The Guiding Sheppard
by Autumn leaves
Summary: The team's in trouble after a betrayal. Sheppard and McKay have been wounded and the team is about to be burnt at the stake by the Genii. Shep whump. COMPLETED.
1. When Life Gives You Lemons

**Guiding Sheppard**  
by Autumn leaves

Type: General

Disclaimer: SGA universe is not mine except for original characters and storyline.

Note: This is something that I've been working on for a while. Any and all feedback is welcomed.

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**Chap 1: When Life Gives You Lemons **

"I do not understand... I thought that these people were my friends. I found it disappointing that Toga especially stood there in silence, that he did not say anything to defend us. I've known him since I was a child. If he wanted to, there would have been more than enough villagers to take them out. After all, the Nonamers were armed, they could have fought the Genii if they so wished," Teyla revealed her distress to Lt Colonel Sheppard and the others. She felt deeply hurt. Only once before had she felt such a way - when she was made the fool and had been tricked and betrayed by people whom she called friends: the Genii. This would be the second time she erred in judgment, and the second time that the team was placed in danger because of her misplaced trust in these so called 'friends'.

"Yeah, it's not to say as if they didn't have any weapons, after all, their weapons sort of rival our own 9mms," Rodney grumbled.

"He's a coward!" Ronon growled, his voice deep and low with suppressed fury.

Sheppard shook his head and sighed, trying to ignore the throbbing waves of pain that pulsated from the bullet wound in his shoulder. He knew the type of man that Toga was, he had met his kind before. He was the kind who wanted only all the good attention and credit for himself, but had no backbone when it came to standing up to what was right. "Toga's just a man afraid to lose his position with the crowd. He fears ridicule from others, he's afraid to lose his popularity and receive the backlash when things go sour. Therefore, he remains silent, thinking that in silence he remains safe. He goes where he thinks the crowd wants him to go, he strives for nothing but the good of his own reputation."

His thoughts turned dark when he recalled his time in Afghanistan when his commanding officer had abandoned him, not wanting to be responsible for a decision to mount a rescue mission to save the POWs who were sentenced to be executed by enemy hands. He had asked his CO's permission to lead a rescue mission, and the man had told him, "If you wish to go after these men, Sheppard. You do it alone. They are considered a lost cause. When they undertook their mission, they knew the risk. If you succeed, the Air Force will back your decision to go after them, but if you fail, then we'll wash our hands of you. This conversation would have never taken place, is that clear? Are you willing to take that risk, Major?"

Sheppard had stood there facing his CO then, knowing full well that when the man said 'Air Force', he actually meant 'I'. On that last question, his CO had expected him to say no. Sheppard had served under this man long enough to know that his CO was a man who didn't dare take risks, he was a man who only wanted to ride the wave of popularity with his superiors, anything that it took to climb the ladder of success. He would not risk his reputation to go after the POWs. He had no backbone for it; he would never make a decision that went against the favour of the crowd, to back something that went against the odds of success. Even if it was the right thing for him to do. He left it to men like Sheppard to do the dirty work and take all the blame especially if the mission went bad. However, if it turned out successful, then the man made sure that he was there to get all the credit. He had done it before, Sheppard had witnessed it done to other men including himself. His CO supported his men only when things worked to his favour.

In this decision, John Sheppard knew that he was alone, but whatever the outcome, Sheppard could not deny the captured men the rescue that they were entitled to. After all, you never left your people behind, that was his belief, his motto, the grounding force of his life and he intended to keep his word. His men, the POWs who were to be executed on enemy territory, counted on him. These men risked their lives in service for their country, it was only right that the officers commanding them made every effort to bring them back safely home again. So to Sheppard, there was no decision to make because the decision was already made. "Yes, sir." Sheppard had replied: he knew the risks, he would take them, even if things turned sour, even if his reputation was shot to shreds. He would attempt the rescue mission alone, without the support of his CO, regardless of the consequence. To do otherwise would mean a betrayal to the very core of who he was. So Sheppard had walked out of his CO's office, knowing that he walked the line alone.

But despite his best efforts, Sheppard had failed, and he had come out of that mission, barely alive himself, having been wounded and injured in the process. And as he had known and expected it, his CO had washed his hands off him and fed him to the sharks putting all the blame on John. A maverick, they called him, problem with the chain of command; so he had received his black mark and shipped off to serve in Antarctica after he had recovered from his injuries. He was meant to be lost and forgotten serving in the snow fields of Antarctica. However, it seemed that fate had other plans for him - his life changed forever the moment he sat down on that Ancient chair.

o-O-o

"You mean all air and no substance." McKay observed sarcastically, bringing Sheppard back to their present predicament. "He talks the talk, but doesn't walk the walk."

John turned gave him a wry smile, "Yeah, you could say that, Rodney. When it was time to make a difference, to show us what type of man he was made of, the kind of ally he could be, he failed to do so, not because he's a bad person, but mainly because he was afraid." When he spoke, he didn't only mean Toga but also the man who had been his CO in Afghanistan.

"Well, he showed us his true colours in the end, didn't he?" Rodney snapped, "Who needs enemies when you've got friends like that, right?"

"He doesn't know the meaning of friendship," Teyla hissed in cold anger, "He only cultivates the show of friendship, but there is no substance behind it!"

"A coward!" Ronon observed again, frowning darkly as he tried to struggle out from his restraints.

"_Ouch!_ Chewy, will you _cut it out_?! Your struggles are only making our ropes tighter! They're cutting off circulation to our arms and it's not helping any with Sheppard's wound nor my foot!" Rodney complained. At McKay's words, Ronon ceased his struggles, but the entire team could sense the former runner's frustrations. Currently Sheppard, Teyla, Ronon and Rodney were tied together to a thick wooden pole, waiting to be burnt at the stake. A thick coil of rope circled their waists and arms, wrapping all four together like sacrificial lambs to the slaughter. As their backs faced the wooden pole, each team member had a different view of the Nonamer village.

"Your foot's not tied up, Rodney, so how can it make it worse?" Sheppard gasped, wincing in pain and feeling hot and light headed from his wounds. His vision faded in and out disturbingly, he didn't like the sign of that.

"Hey! My hands and feet are related okay?! When one part of me is uncomfortable, so is the other! And currently my left foot has a freakin' _hole _in it, bleeding all over my shoe!" McKay grumbled painfully. "After all, the Caveman's struggles surely can't be good for that shoulder of yours! What's up with you, anyway? I was on your side here."

Sheppard grimaced, "Just call me cranky, Rodney. A bullet wound in the shoulder can do that to me sometimes, and you're just as good a distraction as any to keep my mind off it. By the way, you're bleeding _inside _your shoe not _over _it, McKay. And Ronon, thanks for giving it a rest, big guy. Rodney's right, the ropes are not going to disappear despite your struggles."

"What are you, my grammar teacher now? Besides, I was right, well partially anyway, while my foot is swimming in blood, it's actually pouring out from the bullet hole on top of it and pooling at the bottom of my foot. Oh gawd, I think I'm going to pass out... I think I'm going to need a blood transfusion..."

"Then perhaps you should not think about it so much, Rodney," Teyla advised from the opposite side of the pole from where the scientist was held. She looked around at the darkening village and sighed with frustration. She knew many of the villagers here from trading with them in the past. She had considered these people her friends. She had believed Toga, the leader of the Nonamer, as someone whom she could count on. But not anymore, not after what he had done to betray them. Her heart felt heavy that her trust in these people had placed the lives of the team in jeopardy. During one of their regular team meetings, Teyla had mentioned to the Atlantians that the Nonamers were a little more advanced in technology than the people of Athos. On hearing this, Elizabeth had decided to send Sheppard's team to the world to see if these people were interested in trading or becoming allies.

When they arrived at the planet, they were greeted cordially by the Nonamers. At their invitation, Sheppard and his team decided to spend a few days there, while they worked out the details of a trade alliance. Teyla knew that Sheppard had spent most of his free time playing with the kids and teaching the young men and children how to play football. In addition, he and Ronon had also demonstrated to the young men there how to take better shots with their weapons. Rodney was right, the weapons the Nonamers used were fairly similar to the 9mms. Almost every grown adult male in the village carried such weapons with them, hidden in the folds of their cloaks. They carried weapons mainly to protect themselves against wild predators that commonly prowled the fields and close to the village looking for easy prey. Things had been going well for Sheppard and his team until another group of out-worlders arrived.

This new group turned out to be Genii, comprising of seven soldiers who were supporters of Kolya. They had stormed the village and captured the Atlantian team. Sheppard and his team had been dining with Toga and some others at the time. As they were not allowed to carry weapons into the building during the meal, they had not been able to put up a fight against armed intruders. After their capture, Sheppard, Rodney, Teyla and Ronon discovered that the Genii wanted nothing from the Atlantian team except revenge. In particular, they wanted the deaths of Sheppard and his team for the retribution of Genii lives lost during the Atlantians encounter with them.

After they had announced this, none of the Nonamers had been brave enough to stand up and defend the Atlantians. When Koden, the Genii soldier leading the group of intruders, had asked the villagers whether they had any problem with Sheppard and his team being burnt at the stake, many of the villagers had expected Toga their leader to protest. After all, all knew that he had been on friendly terms with the Atlantian team and was currently in the process of negotiating a trade agreement with them. However, to their surprise, Toga simply hung his head and kept silent. He pretended not to know the Atlantians and moved furtively in the shadows of the crowd, hoping not to bring attention to himself.

Toga was a popular leader among his people, but this would be the first time that he faced a challenge where he needed to put more than sugar coated words on the line. If he had spoken up, the villagers would have probably risen up against the outsiders, over taking them, but to the detriment to Sheppard's team, he did not. Toga was too afraid that the wrath of the Genii would fall upon him, his household and his people. He did not stand up for those whom he called friends and allies. By his very silence, he had betrayed them. Teyla had been devastated by Toga's cold silence, and she had been truly ashamed to have once called this man a friend. So when Sheppard and his team saw an opportunity to escape, they took it. However, things didn't work out as planned and they were caught, leaving Sheppard shot in the shoulder, Rodney in the foot and the rest of the team captured and tied to the stake. All members of Sheppard's team knew full well that they were in trouble, for at nightfall, the burning would begin.

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TBC 

So, what do you think? Should I continue? Please review.


	2. Until the Fat Lady Sings

Thank you all sooooo much for your comments. It's wonderful to receive them. When I received only one lovely review after 100 hits, I really thought that everyone else hated it. So, to everyone who was kind enough to read and leave a comment, I love you guys. It made my day each time a little bot message popped up in my email. A personal thanks to all those who took the trouble to review:

-**auStraliS** (Thank you for being the first to review! I was most excited to receive it. It was very encouraging and I loved reading every single word that you said.)  
- **Ocean **(Why thank you, I'm continuing now.)  
- **sherryw **(I loved hearing about all the possibilities and reading your comments. I tried to include more Shep whump in this chappie.)  
- **starfish **(I treasured what you said. (Blush) And I was inspired to write more!)  
- **Titan5 **(You'll never catch me, I shall rule the world!... mhahahhaha! Oops, sorry, I was somewhere else...lol. Your comments made me laugh, which was what I really needed.)  
- **drufan **(Aww... I loved your comments about bar-b-que sauce, can I borrow it, pretty please?)  
- **MacGateFan **(Ok, I shall do so, and thanks so much!)  
- **Reyson** (Hmm... I think I smell burnt toast. Um, does that mean the team's in trouble?)  
- **sarah **(I liked that scene too and loved hearing your thoughts about it. Hopefully this chap will some more scenes that you enjoy too.)  
- **Sheppardster **(Ok, I'm continuing now, and thank you for making a perfect 10!)

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**Chap 2: Until the Fat Lady sings**

"How are you doing, John? Is your injury bad?" Teyla asked in concern. Tied next to her team leader, she could feel John's blood dripping down from his shoulder to his arm to slide down her own hands and fingers where they were restrained together by thick ropes. She also felt warm heat radiating out from him, suggesting that he was suffering a fever. She knew that he needed medical attention and wondered how long he would remain standing before he lost consciousness.

"I'm... good. Nothing that good ol' Dr Beckett can't fix," Sheppard replied off handedly. However, despite his words, Teyla detected the tightness in John's voice and she knew that the bullet wound was causing Sheppard more pain than he let on.

"Hey, easy for you to say," Rodney complained. "I've got a friggin' bullet hole on my foot! If I don't get to Carson soon, I might be crippled for the rest of my life! Gawd, I wonder whether I have any toes left!"

Teyla smiled at Rodney's complaints, quite glad to hear it. The fact that he was doing so, meant that he couldn't be badly injured, otherwise he would remain more silent like Sheppard. It was when they were unnaturally silent about their injury, that's when she got worried.

"He shot you on your foot, Rodney, not on your toes, so I would say that they're all there," John quipped, testing the ropes that restrained them. Yep, Rodney was right, there was no way they were going to get out of them. Not without some sort of weapon to cut them free anyway.

"That Genii is mine!" Ronon suddenly snarled deeply, sounding like a bear ready for a kill. The Satedan started to struggle once more, trying to pull at the ropes in another attempt to get free.

McKay looked up at the Satedan surprised. "Well, um... thank you, Ronon. Didn't realise you cared so much."

"Not the one who shot you, McKay..., _Him!_" Ronon commented, his eyes shooting dark daggers at the pony-tailed Genii warrior known as Kalan. "The one who tied us up!"

Rodney turned to look at where the Satedan indicated. He saw that the pony-tailed Genii was currently twirling around something long and dark in his hand; he waved it at the Satedan whenever he saw Ronon looking his way, just to antagonise him. The scientist instantly knew why the Satedan was fuming with fury.

Rodney snorted derisively. "Oh puhlease! You're angry because that Genii lopped off one of your precious dreadlocks!" Everyone knew that Ronon was as mad as hell over the Genii who had the atrocity to slice the Satedan's hair to keep as a souvenir. If a death glare could kill, that pony tailed Genii would be a smoking pile of dust right about now.

"It wasn't your hair that he touched, McKay," Ronon griped.

"What hair? In case you haven't noticed big guy, Rodney is slowly _losing _his. All that brain inside his big head is not leaving much space for hair growth." That remark came from John.

"Oh har-de-har-har! And is _that _supposed to be funny Sheppard? This, coming from a guy whose hair can't handle a comb? It'll probably get lost in that unruly mess of yours," McKay snapped back. "Besides, I have lots of hair!"

"Oh yeah, have you looked in the mirror lately and seen that receding hair line?" John countered. Winding up Rodney seemed to be the only way he knew to keep both their minds away from their injuries.

"What receding hair line? I _don't _have a receding hairline!" Rodney blustered and protested with indignation. "You're joking right?" his voice suddenly sounded concerned as he tried to look at the top of his head but of course, couldn't.

"Actually, I've been thinking. How did the Genii know that we were here?" Teyla voiced her concern in hopes of changing the topic of conversation quickly. She did not want to be in the middle of Rodney and John's verbal sparring. Sometimes, these two men behaved very much like Jinto and his best friend where they practically needed an adult to step in before things got out of hand. For Sheppard and Rodney, Teyla always found herself being the one to do it. She wondered when did she become the mediator for these two men.

Sheppard frowned, feeling sick and close to passing out now. _Focus John, focus!_ he told himself. It took him a while to consider what Teyla was speaking about. "Good point, Teyla. So, do you think that we were betrayed?"

"There can be no other explanation," Teyla said, turning her head to look at John who was tied on her left side. Her disappointment with the Nonamers was now changing to anger. These people were supposed to be her friends, but they were turning out to be more like her enemies. She could not understand how Toga could pretend to be her friend, then stab her in the back with betrayal. And it looked like her lack of judgement in this people were about to cost her, John, Rodney and Ronon their lives. She was finding it extremely difficult to trust people in the Pegasus galaxy, and it made her feel ashamed over this fact. It made her realise that what she saw as a front could be very different from what was in that person's heart. The person could be as sweet as honey, but inside they could be horribly rotten, or they could only be using another for a hidden agenda of their own. Teyla was learning this lesson the hard way. It was not words but action that mattered, she was beginning to realise that. It gave the true measure of the type of person one was. Teyla thought back to that phrase that Rodney had uttered previously, and she agreed full heartedly with him: if the person only talked the talk but did not walk the walk, then that person was a coward, and the words that he or she used were just empty words, as shallow as an empty glass with no water in it.

"Do you think it's Toga?" Rodney suddenly asked subduedly.

Teyla nodded. However, realising that the scientist would not be able to see her nod as he was tied directly behind her, she replied with a hiss instead. "_Yes_. Why else would he remain silent or lurk in the shadows?"

"So, he's not only a coward but also a two faced traitor!" Ronon observed, still fuming with unrestrained anger, wishing that he could get his hands on all their Genii captives as well as Toga. They had shot Sheppard, and McKay, and dared to cut off one of his dreadlocks; they were so dead!

Teyla closed her eyes, feeling a wave of sadness wash over her. "Once these people were a proud, honourable people. But since the death of Toga's father, they seemed to have lost their way. They seemed to have lost their heart to fight for what is good and what is right."

"Well then, perhaps all they need is someone to teach them what it is to have a heart again - to have a sense of pride and honour. To fight for what they believe in," John spoke up.

"Oh yeah, how do you propose we do that, huh?" Rodney asked acidly. "Cos, as I recall, these people are like sheep with no true shepherd to guide the way. Hey, what am I saying? We _have _our very own Sheppard... Well, Sheppard, any ideas how we're going to get out of here, hmmm?"

"Possibly," replied John, much to Rodney's surprise. "If what you say is true, then we have some lost sheep that need to find their way home. After all, my name _is _Sheppard. I've known people like these before, Rodney. They're basically good people, but sometimes they need a reminder to find courage in themselves to do the right thing. "

"Really?" Rodney asked, having not really expected a response. "Well, you did collect two lost sheep into our team, so I guess maybe you might be on to something there."

Both Ronon and Teyla turned towards each other and lifted amused eyebrows in unison. "You have a plan, John?" Teyla asked.

"Let's just say that it ain't over yet until the Fat Lady sings," John replied with a pale smirk on his face. Things would be a tad better if he wasn't feeling so poorly at the moment.

"Fat lady?" Ronon asked puzzled, getting a similar look of confusion from the Athosian.

Rodney replied, "It's just an old Earth saying, it means..."

"It ain't over til it's over." John cut in, completing Rodney's sentence for him.

o-O-o

TBC

So, how am I doing? Is this still worth continuing? If you're reading, please review.


	3. Baa Baa Sheppard Sheep

Aw, the little bots notification thingies are not working. They must be broken or working too hard or something. Once again, thank you everyone who urged me to continue with your reviews and added this fic in your alerts and fav lists. I was very happy to receive them! Special thanks goes to:

**Ditzyleo** (I had fun writing them, and loved reading the parts that you enjoyed.)  
**Titan5** (You're absolutely right, the Genii are wolves! Hmm, I might have to use that. Am so happy you liked that hairline bit and so loved reading your comments about it.)  
**Merlin71** (Thank you so much and for your comments! It made me very happy.)  
**drufan** (LOL! I was wondering if anyone would spot and laugh about it - ie, no name! You get the spot the 'funny name' prize! Yes, pony tailed Geniie should be scared, very scared indeed.)  
**MacGateFan** (Thanks! I loved reading what you had to say, esp the scenes that you enjoyed.)  
**Terry **(I'm writing as fast as I can!)  
**lightrain** (Thank you! Toga should hopefully make an appearance later on and the team is wondering about that too.)  
**BingoGrl821** (I'm glad you think so! Am doing so.)  
**TangledPencils** (LOL! What a cracker! I enjoyed the laugh, thank you.)  
**highonscifi** (Thanks! It's nothing very fancy, but hopefully you still like.)  
**PyroDragon2006** (I shall try my best! Poor John, we do like to stick holes in him, don't we? LOL.)  
**reen212000** (Thanks, that's great to hear!)

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**Chap 3: Baa Baa Sheppard Sheep...**

Nightfall had arrived. By now Rodney was panicking a little. "Oh gawd! We're going to be fried and barbecued, and burned like witches on a stake! By the time Elizabeth sends another team to look for us, all they'll find would be blackened and roasted corpses, nobody would even be able to recognise any of us! We might be moulded together like some lump of burnt meat or melted human bits! My sister won't have a decent body to bury except an unrecognisable piece of steak! Oh boy, I think I'm starting to hyperventilate! I think my blood sugar level is getting low, I think I'm feeling kinda light headed... Do you think they'll allow us a last meal before we get roasted?"

"Rodney, will you cut it out?! And how can you think of food at a time like this? Just remain calm, stay positive and pull yourself together!" John scolded the scientist.

"Hey hey hey! I need my blood sugar level to remain at safe levels, at least give the dying man a last bite to eat, it's the least they can do! After all, they shot me in the foot, which I think is still bleeding by the way! I need to replenish my sugar and blood level. Do you think they'll give us steak if we asked for it?" Rodney ranted, gulped and tried to stay calm. He tried to ease the rising panic that was threatening to overwhelm him. It wasn't an easy task to say the least. Then, they heard the sound of footsteps approaching.

From where they were positioned, Teyla was the first to see the five Genii approaching with their leader, Koden, walking with a lighted torch in his hand. Throughout the evening, the Genii got the rest of the villagers to place piles of wood around the Atlantian team in preparation for the burning at the stake. While they were doing it, Sheppard would stare hard at some of the young men there; he didn't say anything, but his eyes spoke volumes. A couple of young men glanced at him guiltily, but none would meet the gaze of his hazel eyes. The same applied to the rest of his team too, especially Teyla; no Nonamer dared look at her either. After all, many in the village knew the Athosian, she was considered a friend to many of them. However, through out the evening, there was no sight of Toga, the leader of the Nonamers.

When they had completed their task, the villagers had all gone back to cowering in their homes again. Sheppard found it difficult to believe that these people could be cowed so easily especially when they had weapons to fight back with. Their technology was about the same level as the Genii. With so many of them, it would have been easy to defeat the Genii. But somewhere along the way, these people had lost their warriors' heart, they were simple peasants and farmers, looking after livestock and their crops. He wondered whether it was the cullings of the wraith that had broken down their spirit to fight for what was theirs. After all, they were allowing the Genii to take over and order them around as if they nothing but brainless sheep. Rodney was right, these people had somehow lost their way. Yet, when John had played and spoken with the children and young men, he had seen the spark of independence in their eyes; they were capable of so much more. He sensed it deep within him, he hoped that he would be able to succeed in making them realise it for themselves. If he didn't then he would die with the rest of his team tonight.

The group of armed Genii approached the Atlantian team. It was time for the burning to begin and the Genii looked pleased with the handy work.

"Best to say goodbye, Sheppard," Koden said gleefully, "cos you and your team are about to personally experience a burning tonight."

"Oh please!" McKay shouted from his side of the pole, although he couldn't see Koden from where he was tied up. "Couldn't you think up of something more original? After all, it isn't as if we're in the Middle Ages here."

"No, burning by the stake will do _just fine_," John drawled, giving the Genii leader a pointed smile.

"What?! Have you gone nuts, Sheppard?!" this exclamation came from Rodney.

"Sheppard? Do you know what you're doing?" Ronon asked from the opposite side of the pole.

"John?" Teyla questioned hesitantly.

"Trust me, guys, let me handle this. You said that you wanted a shepherd to lead the flock, didn't you? Well, I'm doing that now," John said. However, despite his causal tone, there was a small frown between his brows as he focused on the man standing before him. He tried not to let Koden see how much his shoulder wound was hurting him. He really could use some of Carson's good drugs right about now.

"As long as you know what you're doing," Ronon growled a low warning.

"And suggesting that we be burned at the stake is not sounding like a very good plan right about now, Sheppard!" Rodney piped in.

Teyla said nothing. John hoped that it was because she had faith in him that he would find a way to get them out of this mess. He sighed, moving his thoughts away from his team's lack of trust back towards the man who stood before him. Koden had obviously heard his team's protests and was enjoying it so far. The Genii leader chuckled, looking at the rest of his men, who also broke into amused laughter. Perhaps, the fact that his team had protested could work out in his favour after all, Sheppard thought to himself.

"Koden, before our painful demise, I only ask for only one favour," Sheppard stared at the Genii leader.

Koden's curiosity was piqued, so he barked out. "You may ask Sheppard, but you may not necessary get it."

John nodded, he turned to look at all the villagers who had been rounded up to witness the burning. He saw the young men whom he had taught football with, the children whom he had played with and told ghost stories to, the older men whom he and Ronon had helped carry their load from the fields. The women whom Teyla knew and were friends with. It was amazing how familiar some these people had become in the relative short period that he and his team had been there. But now these same Nonamers who had laughed and shared meals with them were as silent as sheep. They were all gathered there to witness Sheppard and his team's execution. In a shadowy corner, John spied movement, and he saw Toga lurking about, as if afraid to show or bring attention to himself.

"I only ask that you get one of the Nonamers villagers to light the flame. After all, this is their village, and as they helped build the stake, it is only right that they should light it." Sheppard said. At his words, he heard gasps and murmuring of unease ripple through the villagers. From close beside him, he heard Rodney whisper frantically, "_What kind of lame brain idea is that, Sheppard? Did that bullet strike you in the head instead?"_

Koden however burst loud laughing, liking the idea as John knew that he would. But the colonel did not say anything else except to return the Genii's smirk with an unreadable smile of his own. He then turned his gaze towards the villagers gathered there and all that his gaze fell upon looked away in shame.

"Agreed!" Koden finally replied, still chuckling loudly, not realizing the uncomfortable silence that had settled upon the crowd. He turned back towards John, looking at him in amusement. "Whom do you chose?" he asked.

John looked back at the crowd of villagers facing him. He knew that he _wouldn't _choose Toga for the Nonamer leader had already proven himself to be no ally to the Atlantians but a traitor in sheep's clothing. No, it had to be someone with a potential to lead. A potential to give the Nonamers back their spirit, their courage, their heart. The pilot then spotted the youngster, he couldn't be no more than seventeen years of age; Sheppard had been teaching him and a couple of his friends how to play football during his spare time in the village. _He would do._ John thought to himself. It was now time for the boy to proof himself to be a man. He hoped that he judged correctly, after all, all their lives depended on it.

"Adric," John said, nodding toward the blond haired young man who was standing in the middle of the crowd, wearing long dark brown robes. Many of the Nonamers there wore long robes; it was part of their garment, it protected them against the cold breeze. At the mention of his name, Adric looked up with shock displaying on his comely features, he shook his head '_No_'. Then his 'no' became audible. But despite his protests, the young man was pushed forward and dragged out by the rest of the Genii who were now laughing with glee.

"It's all right, Adric," Sheppard said, looking at the young man in the eye, "You can do this. Remember what I taught you about playing football? This is basically the same thing. If you have heart and courage, things will work out the way you expect it to."

He saw the fear in Adric's eyes leak away and determination and fortitude take its place. Sheppard knew that he made the right decision, and he gave the young man another nod, glanced at the armed Genii before them, but did not say anything else.

**TBC**

So, how am I doing? Please tell me what you think about it.


	4. From the Frying Pan

Thank you, thank you everyone who reviewed my last chapter. Lots of hugs all of you! I hope that interest in this story is not dropping as less people reviewed than chapter two, but anyway, here's chapter four.

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**Chap 4:** **From the Frying Pan...**

Adric approached the group of Atlantians with trepidation in his heart. Not because he feared them, but because he feared that he might fail in the task that John Sheppard had set out for him. Sheppard had taught them the game of football, the game which called for strategic planning, how to rebound even when it looked like the odds were against them. In that game, Sheppard had selected Adric to be the Captain of the football team that he had set up. So when Sheppard had called Adric's name and asked that he be the one to light that spark of fire that would ultimately be the Atlantian team's funeral pyre, Adric knew instantly that he couldn't do it. These people were his friends, he especially admired and looked up to the warrior called John Sheppard.

He had protested all the way as the Genii dragged him out, wondering why Sheppard was doing this to him. It took him a while to detect and comprehend the underlining words that Sheppard didn't say. It was only when he looked into the dark haired colonel's eyes, did he become aware that he was selected not because Sheppard wanted him to be the hand that brought death to them, but the one who would do something to save their lives. There was no defeat that he saw in the hazel warrior's eyes but an expectation, a belief in Adric that he had never seen or experienced before. The look that he received, warmed his heart with a sense of courage that he had never felt before - to know that the warrior before him trusted him enough with their lives was a powerful motivator for him to do something about it. And Adric was determined not to let them down. He would enlist his friends help: the other young men who had learnt football from Sheppard. He was sure that they would be keen to help save the Atlantians once he spoke to them. He didn't think he would have trouble convincing them. Already a plan was forming in his mind, but it also needed Sheppard and his team to be free from their binds if it were to work. And time was also a factor - things could easily go wrong. However, he refused to think about that.

Making up his mind, he turned and took what he hoped looked like a nervous glance at the Genii soldiers before stepping up towards the wooden pyre to approach the bound team.

"What are you doing, boy?" he heard Koden call out impatiently, making him pause and his heart race with nervousness.

Adric turned and looked back at the Genii leader. "Before I light the match, I wish to stare into the eyes of those whom I am condemning to die," he replied, trying to sound like a curious teenager that he was.

The Genii laughed, thinking that he was a blood thirsty young man, which suited Adric's purposes fine. Adric smiled at the man before turning back to face the Atlantian team. He approached John Sheppard first. His gaze noted the sheen of perspiration that covered Sheppard's face and the blood that stained his uniform. He didn't realise that Sheppard had been wounded as he and his friends had been away helping their fathers out in the fields when the Atlantians tried to escape and were recaptured. He saw Sheppard scutinising him with determination and courage in his pale features. Adric recognised what he saw. This man had eyes of not only a warrior, but a great leader; he had seen the same look once in Toga's father, when he was a small child. Where the old man led, the other Nonamers had followed - they had thrived then; this Adric had heard from his parents and from his own memory of the past.

As for Toga, Adric had always liked the man, admired him for the leader that he was. Toga had a way with words to charm a person into liking him. Like his late father, Toga also liked to speak of peace, of safety, or building strong alliances with people who could protect them. Adric knew that the Nonamer leader had tried to form trade alliances with many out-worlders, sometimes going off-world to complete them. As Adric wasn't privy to those meetings, he never knew how many off-worlders Toga had dealings with. Some of the alliances formed were open alliances, like the ones with the Athosians and the ones that Toga was planning with the Atlantians. Others, were more low-keyed that most Nonamers didn't know about them. However, lately Toga had become quite excited with a trade that he said he had made with some off-worlders. He said that soon, they wouldn't need to worry about the Wraith anymore, as these people had promised to protect them. And when the Atlantians had arrived and asked for trade, he had even been more excited over the prospect of medicines for his people in exchange of food for the off-worlders. So, like many, Adric had admired and looked up to their leader.

However, this would be the first time that Adric saw Toga placed in a challenging situation. When the Genii arrived and took their Atlantian guests prisoners, Adric had expected Toga to protest, to fight for their new found allies. Adric knew that he and all the other men in the village, including his freinds, would have been ready to follow Toga into battle if he had given the word. But the leader of the Nonamers hadn't. Instead he had seen fear and something else written in Toga's eyes, and he had been shocked by it, and by the silence of his leader as he acquiesced to the Genii's wish. It would be the first time he experienced the deep burn of shame. He felt embarrassed and angry that his people had stood there doing nothing to aid the Atlantians in their time of need. Although he wanted to scream in protest, he did not have the courage to do anything. After all, he was still considered a youngling and his people had been led by Toga's family for many generations; it was not his place to speak up. Adric remembered wishing that he wasn't a Nonamer any longer.

Now, as Adric looked into the eyes of the one called Sheppard, he recognised the man to be a true leader - a man who wasn't afraid to die for his beliefs and a man who never lacked courage, despite being afraid. During his encounters with Sheppard, the man had spoken to Adric and the others about honour and battle tactics both in the game of football and in field of battle. Being young men, they had been eager to hear about his and Ronon's battles against the wraiths. It stirred their hearts with fire to know that there were some humans out there who were brave enough to fight back against the wraith. Adric and many young men had found themselves wishing that they could follow Sheppard back to somehow aid in the fight. It would be meaningful, it would give them a purpose rather than just surviving day by day planting crops and hiding in the caves whenever the cullings began.

Sheppard had extended himself with a gift of friendship towards Adric and his friends and the Nonamers in general. Adric realised that if the situation had been reversed, Sheppard would have fought for them. A fire of determination grew deep within him. There would be no second chances, Adric knew. This time, he would fight for Sheppard and his team. This time, he would do the Nonamer name justice.

He looked up from the blood on Sheppard's uniform and saw that the man was eying him calmly. In the steel look of his hazel eyes, an unspoken message seemed to pass between them that seemed to say _'You can do this!'. _Adric gave a wordless nod, and then in a blink of an eye, he slipped the spare weapon that he had hidden in the folds of his cloak and placed it into Sheppard's pocket. He saw the man's eyes widen slightly in the surprise, but like a true warrior he didn't display any other emotion in his face, except to blink once in acknowledgment.

He turned then, striding towards the tall one, the warrior called Ronon, the one who had taught him and his friends the art of hand to hand combat. Yet, before he could reach him, he had to walk pass Teyla Emmagan. As he did so, he turned to look at her, giving her a brief nod, feeling the uncomfortable presence of her cold gaze on him. For a moment, he wondered whether he should give her the hunter's knife instead, for he knew her well enough to know that she was more than capable of using it. But the ropes that the team was tied to were thick, and it would take her longer to saw through the coils. No, it would be speed that they needed: the Satedan would have the strength to do what was required faster.

Soon he was walking past her and staring directly into the eyes of Ronon Dex. As he approached the man, he saw the fury burning within the Satedan's eyes. However, he saw that it wasn't aimed at him, but at the Genii warriors behind him. Adric smiled nervously. Hoping that Ronon would get the hint as he suddenly came up towards the Satedan and spat in his face. His action took the Satedan by surprise, and the tall warrior jerked at the ropes and snarled back furiously at him - the fury burning in his eyes was enough to make him instantly afraid of his life. _Oh, dumb move, Adric! _he thought to himself then. But in the flurry of movement, he quickly slipped the hunter's dagger into the runner's hand.

He heard laughter behind him from the onlooking Genii but looking up at the Satedan, he saw the look of fury in his eyes had turned to a glint of understanding as the hand moved and hid the knife that was already position upwards in between the thick ropes that bound them. Adric's body blocked the Genii from seeing what had occurred. Ronon played along, giving no indication as to what he did as he continued his display of furious anger. The stage of set, he had done his part to help out the Atlantians, the rest would be a mixture of luck and courage from both he and his friends and Sheppard's team. The Genii were getting impatient now. "Enough!" They called out to him, before he could make a display of visiting the one called Rodney McKay, the scientist.

"Start the fire now!"

He heard Rodney called out in a frightened voice. "Oh god! I hope you know what you're doing Sheppard, cos in a few minutes we're going to die!"

Adric looked apologetically at Sheppard's team, then kneeling down beside the wooden pyre, he took the torch that was handed to him by Koden. Soon the wood began to burn.

o-0-o

TBC

PLEASE REVIEW!


	5. Burning Ring of Fire

I had heaps of trouble trying to post this, otherwise the update would have been posted earlier. Thanks for the reviews. Sorry that I didn't manage to thank everyone in my last chapter as I was in a rush (had a boring conference to attend). Anyway, I would like to personally thank Domino, auStraliS, sherryw, McGateFan, Reyson, drufan, TheNaggingCube, StarSkimmer, Esmilla, TangledPencils, Titan5, amsilcox, reen21200 and Ditzyleo for reviewing one or both of last two chapters. I loved reading what each one of you had to say.

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**Chap 5: Burning Ring of Fire**

Ronon continued to scowl as he saw Adric leave his post and disappear into the crowd. The fire started out small at first but it quickly spread into a ring of fire around the team. Ronon knew that pretty soon it would get bigger and there was a good chance that smoke inhalation would kill them first before the fire got to them. Ronon didn't wait. With the knife gripped tightly in his hand, he began sawing through the ropes between his and Teyla's side. However, he couldn't go fast, as he had to do it with stealth otherwise the Genii watching them would note his movements and shoot him where he stood.

Teyla, he saw, knew what was happening by the sideways glance she had given him. She pursed her lips in a worried determined line and whispered something to Sheppard, who was positioned on the opposite side of the pole from where Ronon was. McKay was the only one who remained clueless that the team now had some means to escape. When scientist saw the lighted pyre, he went into a full-blown panic attack that even impressed Ronon at some of the curse words he used towards the Geniie. In a way, Ronon felt a little sorry for the scientist, for he was the only one in their team who didn't know what was happening. The Satedan felt sure that Teyla had informed Sheppard about the knife. However, Ronon couldn't afford to enlighten the scientist, for the distraction that Rodney was unwittingly providing was proving useful for him: it took the Genii soldiers' attention away from him which was what Ronon needed. It wasn't long before the scientist started to puff at the flames, vainly attempting to blow them out as they got closer to his feet: laughter broke out from the Genii as they now gathered to watch Rodney's antics. The ropes were thick and stubborn, and with greater intensity, Ronon scowled and began sawing through them with his knife.

o-O-o

Sheppard didn't say anything, except to outwardly frown when Teyla told him that Ronon had a knife and was now attempting to cut through their binds. The kid Adric had done well - better than he had expected. From amidst the growing flames, he saw the Genii leader, Koden, looking up at him with a smug smile on his face before a crackle from his communicator got Koden's attention. The Genii leader brought what looked like an earth version of a walkie-talkie to his ear, said a few words and placed it down in his pocket again. Then he approached Sheppard, looking at the growing flames licking at closer towards John's feet.

"Colonel Sheppard! Dr. McKay! I am to inform you that I just received word from Kolya. He sends his greetings and for me to tell you that he regrets that he is unable to witness your and McKay's demise himself as he has other matters to attend to. However, he assures you that he will arrive tomorrow morning through the gate to pay his respects over your charred remains."

At Koden's words, Sheppard heard McKay hissing frantically at him. "Sheppard?! What are you going to do now, huh? Shepherd, sheep, remember? If you don't do something soon, we'll be crispy-fried, and I'm..." he paused as if thinking for something profound to say, "I'm going to come back and _haunt_ you for the rest of my life!"

"Don't you mean death, McKay? Cos to haunt, you have to be dead," Sheppard replied caustically. "Besides, a haunting from you? For eternity? _Not_ going to happen. We're coming out of this alive, Rodney. Just try to stay positive." But despite his words, Sheppard cursed softly to himself, Rodney was right. They had to escape soon otherwise they _would _be 'crispy-fried' as McKay had so eloquently phrased it. The flames were already getting bigger, almost licking at their feet. He needed to persuade the Nonamers to help them. The kid was good, but Adric obviously needed help to get the villagers moving. Also, if he knew Ronon the way he did, the Satedan should be halfway through cutting their binds by now. The coils that they were tied to were thick, it wouldn't be an easy job despite Ronon's strength; he knew that it would take time. John straightened, it was time he lived up to his surname and led these lost sheep to do the right thing. Hopefully, what he said would galvanize the crowd into action and take further attention away from the Satedan.

"Listen to me!" Sheppard shouted to the villagers watching the rising flames and growing heat. Already John could feel the sweat breaking out from his skin. It wouldn't be long before the smoke and heat became unbearable. _Come on, Ronon, hurry up!_

"You don't have to do this! I know that you don't want this! The Genii are not your friends! You don't have to listen to what they say! This is _your _village! _Your _home! _You _have a right to _defend _it! You have a right to decide who lives and who dies! Whether you wish to stand around and watch us being burned alive or whether you choose to fight back!"

The crowd grew uncomfortable and restless at Sheppard's words. He knew that he had their attention, which was a good sign. In the midst of the crowd, a young voice shouted: "Sheppard's right! This is _our _village! We don't have to stand for this! We should help the Atlantians!" John recognised the voice as Adric and gave a tight smile, but his frown did not go away.

Koden, Sheppard saw, now looked uncomfortable at this new development. He had allowed John to speak purely because he found it entertaining and he didn't think that Sheppard would be able to do anything from where he was. He wanted to see Sheppard beg the crowd for help and see him humiliated when no help arrived. It looked like he had misjudged these people. However, Koden's next words surprised John and the rest of his team.

"Toga! Where are you man?! We made a deal, control your people!" Koden shouted to the leader of the Nonamers.

The people hushed and wavered uncomfortably at the mention of their leader's name. There was a stirring, then the chubby form of Toga in his trademark flame-red hair stepped out from the crowd. "Don't listen to Sheppard or the boy! These Atlantians are not our friends! I've made a deal with the Genii, they said that they would protect us from the wraith if we handed Sheppard and his team over to them! It seems that the Atlantians are not an honourable people, they stole from the Genii what belonged to them and they killed in cold blood many of their people! The Genii are our friends _not _these Atlantians!"

Sheppard shook his head, it was beginning to get a little too hot for comfort now, the flames were rising, what was taking Ronon so damn long?! He coughed, his shoulder wound was killing him, he felt sick, dizzy and weak, but he couldn't display this weakness to the crowd. He had to convince them that the Genii were lying, that what Toga said was untrue!

"No! Those are lies! Toga did not hear the whole truth of the story! It was the _Genii _who betrayed us, who invaded our home City, who _killed _two or our people. They pretended to be refugees from a wraith attack who needed our help!" John could see that he got the crowd's full attention now. He also saw several of the young men in the crowd move to take strategic positions so that they could have a good line of fire at the Genii.

While John was halfway speaking, Toga tried to intervene, saying "No! No! Don't listen to him!" but Sheppard continued nonetheless, pushing on. He knew that he had the advantage and he wasn't about to let it go. It was his role now, all their lives depended on it: to be the surrogate leader for the Nonamers, their voice, their conscience, and as Rodney had once commented, their guiding shepherd, if need be.

"I don't know what the Genii told you or promised your people, but what I do know is that you can't trust them. You are _better_ than them. I know some of you, _many _of you..., you also _know _Teyla Emmagan and the Athosians. They are an honourable people, would Teyla herself be here if I did not speak the truth?"

At this stage, Teyla spoke up, "John Sheppard is correct. The Atlantians are my people's friends and trusted allies, they aided my people, shared their City and homeworld with us, when Athos was destroyed by the wraith. They provided aid, medicines, hope for my people. A safer haven we could not have asked for. I have also seen these Atlantians help many others, those who needed to relocate to new worlds due to the destruction of their own homes. You can trust what John Sheppard says as the truth. It is the Genii who are the liars; they are deceiving you as they had deceived Sheppard and his people."

Sheppard took over, continuing on, glad that Teyla had spoken up. He could see that they were getting to the Nonamers. "The Genii cannot protect you from the wraith, no one can. All they can bring you is lies, dishonour and... " Sheppard's speech was cut short by a cry of pain as a Genii weapon was discharged followed by an angry shout of "Enough!" from the Genii leader Koden.

Pandemonium broke out then. It was as if the Genii firing the weapon at the bound Sheppard had finally broken the Nonamers out from their frozen stance and galvanised them into action. Several things happened at once: Adric and his young friends started shouting at the crowd to get out of the way before they started shooting at Koden and the other Genii soldiers; the villagers started to scream and panic; and the Genii started to fire back at young Adric and his friends. At the same time, Sheppard was knocked back by the bullet's impact; Teyla cried out John's name in alarm; Rodney turned, noticed that the colonel was bleeding badly from another bullet wound; and Ronon managed to cut through their binds, releasing all four team members from the pole.

o-O-o

TBC

Hope that you enjoy this chap, if you can spare a moment, please let me know what you think! It isn't that hard, just click the button below, type some text and less than a minute, you're done. Reviews make my day.


	6. Escape from Genii Mountain

Wow! Thanks a heap for all your inspiring reviews! Hugs to sherryw, Dragonfairymaiden, Esmilla, Titan5, Mandy, Sheppardster, Baileysmom, amsilcox, Tammie, Jules47, auStraliS, drufan, winterelf, reen21200 and Ditzyleo! I was thrilled by all your comments and didn't want to leave you hanging. If you were hoping to get me to write faster, it worked. :D So here's an early update for all who requested it. A bit short, but it seemed appropriate to end there. Hope you enjoy.

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**Chap 6: Escape from Genii Mountain**

Ronon knew the Genii had shot Sheppard when he heard the gunshot blast and the colonel's cry of pain. A heated rage coursed through his veins at the cowardice of the enemy. It made the Satedan raging mad, and he wanted to kill every single Genii there with his bare hands. With an abrupt violent jerk, he sliced through the last remaining coil of rope. They were free at last!

Ronon swiftly pushed the coils of rope away from his body, saw that Rodney and Teyla were helping Sheppard, and dismissed them from his mind. There were enemies to kill, revenge to be had. With roar and a great leap he jumped across the ring of fire and sprang towards the Genii running past him, knocking the man to the ground. The Satedan grinned viciously, when he recognised the pony tailed Genii who had cut off a piece of his dreadlock. _Smack! Crack! _Went his hand, striking the Genii's jaw, then another smashing into his face. The man, not expecting an attack in the direction of the burning stake was taken by surprise. He tried to put up a fight but was no match for Ronon and pretty soon he was rendered unconscious with a broken nose, arm and ribs. Ronon then took the knife given to him by Adric, lifted the Genii's pony tail and sliced it off with a single cut before slamming the unconscious man's head back hard onto the ground again. With a growl of disdain, he scattered the Genii's cut hair over the unconscious form before picking up the Genii's discarded firearm and headed off towards the fray where the sound of gunshots fired.

o-O-o

At the release of their binds, John would have fallen, if it were not for Teyla and Rodney both quickly grabbing a firm hold of the colonel from each side. Sheppard was still conscious, but in a lot of pain. The second bullet had hit him in the front of his left upper arm, logging in there with no exit wound. He was bleeding badly. They shared a grim look before Teyla asked, "Ready Rodney?"

The scientist nodded nervously, understanding instantly what they needed to do. Without any hesitation, they leaped through the growing flames that was now quite high before them. They carried Sheppard tucked safely between them. John and Teyla tumbled clear from the flames to hit hard dirt, but Rodney was not so lucky and he let go of John as soon as he felt his injured foot stumble and hit the burning wood below him. The hungry flames were eager to feed on the another source and Rodney screamed in horror as he felt the side of his jacket and trouser leg catch fire.

Despite the raging pain of his injuries, John managed to retain his grip of consciousness - his hand clutched tightly at his wounded arm as Teyla tore some cloth to quickly wrap around the new bullet wound in an attempt to stop the bleeding. Black dots started to appear before his vision, but then he heard McKay screaming and what he saw made his heart heighten close to panic.

"_Drop and roll, Rodney! Drop and roll!_" he screamed, very much fearing for his friend's life.

Despite his growing terror, Rodney managed to hear Sheppard's shouted command. He instantly began rolling about in the sand frantically trying to put out the flames.

"Teyla, go help, Rodney! I'll be okay," John managed to gasp out, getting up to his knees and grunting heavily. _You can pass out later, John, just not now!_ he chastised himself. His task was not yet complete, he still had things to do.

Seeing that John was still conscious and coherent, Teyla nodded, shooting one last worried look in his direction before rushing towards McKay. She quickly removed her jacket and wrapped it around the remaining flames on Rodney's form as the scientist writhed on the ground; his eyes tightly shut, grimacing in pain. He gasped out painfully, "Oh god, oh god, oh god! Am I a burnt bacon? Can you smell charred flesh? Is my leg and side still in one piece? Do I still have my eyebrows?"

Teyla quickly checked over the scientist, frowning slightly at the reddened flesh at the lower end of the Rodney's leg where the fire had caught on his trousers. McKay had some second degree burns on his lower leg, but fortunately they managed to get the flames out in the time. His clothes suffered the main blunt of the damage. "You have some burns on you leg, Rodney, but you'll be OK."

"I will?" Rodney asked, sounding surprised, finally opening his eyes to stare up at Teyla. "Oh thank god! For a moment there, I thought I was going to become a human version of barbecued steak!"

Teyla smiled, "No, not this time Rodney."

McKay finally sat up, looking in disgust at his burnt clothes then at his injured leg and foot, wincing painfully. He turned and looked around, "Where's Sheppard?" he asked, his voice now tinged with concern. "Is he all right?"

Teyla smiled. "He is fine, Rodn..." her reassurance died in her lips as she glanced to where she had left John. She noticed that except for blood stains on the ground, he was no longer where she had left him. Her concern heightened as her sharp eyes noticed that a trail of blood led towards the sound of weapons fire.

o-O-o

TBC

Please continue reviewing. We'll almost at the end, I think only two more chapters and possibly (maybe) an epilogue to go.


	7. Shoot out at OK Corral

Thank you all you lovely people for your lovely, lovely comments! Special thanks go to Wildweasel, sherryw, MacGateFan, Jules47, StarSkimmer, Titan5, chokolaj, auStraliS, drufan, Ditzyleo, reen21200, TheNaggingCube, Reyson and PryoDragon2006. Your reviews inspired me to write more so here's another early update just for you. The longest chapter yet! Hope you enjoy.

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**Chap 7: Shoot Out at OK Corral**

Lt Colonel John Sheppard had every intention of staying where he was while Teyla saw to McKay. After all, he was hurting too much to try to move. Already, the makeshift bandage that Teyla had tied to his arm wound was soaking through with blood, not to mention his earlier shoulder wound was still bleeding slightly and throbbing like crazy. However, as he looked up towards the sound of weapons fire, he caught sight of a little girl, probably three or four years old, sitting on the ground and crying while a few panicked villagers dashed past her unnoticed. Some one, probably the Genii, had set a wooden hay cart on fire and had pushed it onto the street. Currently, it was heading straight towards the child.

John cursed, pushed himself up with a painful grunt and ran towards the girl, picking her up with his uninjured arm, barely avoiding the wooden cart as it rolled past them. The child continued to wail at his shoulder so he tried to calm her down with soft 'hush' and 'shoo' sounds. When that didn't work, he finally resorted to humming a soft lullaby that he seemed to remember as a kid. The calming tone of the melody seemed to work and soon the little girl stopped crying, giving little hiccups instead. Tiny fingers lifted and began playing with his spiked hair, pulling at the strands, something that John didn't find amusing at all.

"Hey, hey, hey... stop that, will ya? By the way, what's your name?" he asked, wondering what to do with her. The toddler didn't answer him, but gave a little soft giggle and pulled his hair even harder.

"Ow! Will ya stop that?" John frowned, but his voice was still gentle, and the child ignored him and continued playing with his hair. He knew that he needed to get the girl to safety, or at least hand her over to someone who could deliver her back to her parents. Suddenly a woman ran past him.

"Hey!" he called out, reaching out with his wounded arm despite the pain it caused him, trying to stop her. The Nonamer woman panicked. Thinking that he was the enemy, she gave him a painful kick in the shin, screaming loudly to let her go.

"Ow!" Sheppard cried out. "Hey, hey! Easy there! I'm the good guy here! I only wanted you to take this kid back to her parents!" he showed her the child that he was carrying.

"Oh!" the woman's eyes widened apologetically. "So sorry, mister. Yes, I know the girl, her parents will be worried looking for her! Here, pass her to me, I shall see that she is returned safely to her family. Thank you, good sir! Thank you!" she cried as she took the child and quickly fled towards one of the buildings.

John sighed, relieved that the child was safely taken care of and that he didn't need to worry about her any longer. He looked at his wounded shoulder and arm, frowning worriedly: both were still throbbing painfully and bleeding somewhat. Adrenalin was coursing through him, he still had strength remaining to do what he had to do. Wincing painfully, he clutched his wounded arm, took a deep breath and made his way towards the sound of battle. Adric and the other young men were not hardened soldiers, they knew nothing about battle tactics. They would need help if they were to defeat the Genii, even with Ronon's help.

o-O-o

The sound of gunfire had lessened by the time Sheppard reached the corner of an old abandoned barn. In the short period since their escape from the burning stake, the Genii had retreated and commandeered one of the villager's homes, using it as shelter. The house was situated in the outskirts of the Nonamer village. Sheppard was amazed at how far the Genii had moved in such a short space of time. Staggering towards a shadowed, isolated corner, he stumbled across the body of a dead Genii soldier and an injured young Nonamer, probably around Adric's age, lying on the ground. In the ensuring panic and chaos, he could see how easy it was for the villagers to miss the injured youngster lying hidden in the shadows. Bending down to assess the young man's injuries, he recognised the boy to be Calwen, one of Adric's young friends in the football team. The kid looked up at him with scared eyes riddled with pain as he clutched his bleeding gut.

"Am I going to die?" the youngster gasped out weakly, gripping John's forearm in a death grip as Sheppard began applying first-aid to Calwen's wound. He recognised the wound to be fatal, he had seen such injuries before. However, he couldn't leave the kid to die alone, not without making some attempt to save his life.

John looked into the scared youngster's eyes. "You're going to be fine, Calwen, just hang on," he said reassuringly; the lie formed on his lips in spite of the grief he felt in knowing that the kid was dying as he spoke. The kid nodded, closed his eyes for a moment, before coughing out blood. Then he opened them again to weakly whisper into John's ear, "Sheppard! Koden... has... Adric! You've got to help him!"

It was the last words the boy uttered before closing his eyes again, and with a soft exhalation, he breathed his last and was gone. John didn't have time to mourn the young Nonamer's loss; that would come later, when he was on his own, in a time and place where there were no other lives to worry about. He briefly bowed his head, then lifted a gentle hand to shut the staring, dead eyes of boy who would never grow up to be a man.

Then, in the stillness of the night, he heard Koden's taunting voice call out his name.

"Sheppard! Get me Sheppard! Otherwise the kid dies!"

o-O-o

Sheppard made his way, half staggering, towards the group of Nonamer villagers who were now gathered together, watching in horror as Koden pointed a weapon at young Adric's head. He currently held the boy in front of him like a shield, while standing partially hidden by a barn wall. The young Nonamer looked dazed, and the side of his head was bleeding from a wound as if he had been struck by a weapon. Adric's friends and the rest of the Nonamer men who had decided to join the fight were looking at the scene in front of them with concern. None of them were skilled enough to shoot Koden where he stood for fear of hitting young Adric.

At the moment, Toga, who was hidden behind a tall water barrel, was pleading with Koden to release Adric.

"Please!" the red haired leader of the Nonamers stammered. "This was not what we agreed upon! Let the boy go, and I assure you that my people will allow you safe passage back to the ring of the Ancestors!"

Koden looked at Toga, then at the bodies of three of his men who now lay either dead or injured on the ground.

"Your word means nothing to me, Toga! You can't even control your own people from uprising against us! I want Sheppard! He was responsible for the deaths of many Genii. Kolya wants him dead and so do I! I know he escaped from the burning stake!"

Toga looked worried now. "We do not know where the Atlantians are! If you are willing to wait, perhaps I could send men to track Sheppard down for you, but please let the boy go!"

Koden shook his head, grabbing Adric closer to him, his forearm around the youngster's neck. "No! If you can't get me Sheppard, then I'll accept your surrender Toga in exchange for the boy's life. You can be my hostage instead! You can tell Kolya how our alliance failed - how Sheppard and his team escaped their execution."

There was a murmuring in the crowd at his words as the Nonamers looked at Toga to see if he was willing to do the exchange. The chubby man's features paled, and he shook his head. He could not do it, for he knew that to do so would mean surrendering his life and he was not willing to do it. He could not give his life up for a mere boy: he loved his own life too much for that. Although he adored receiving the admiration of his people, especially them thinking how clever he was in his use of words and in his negotiation skills, this was one time where he was not willing to play the hero in order to get his people's adulation. When push came to shove, he would always choose the saving of his own skin even if it went against the wishes of the crowd, even if it did lose him his popularity, his fans, his followers. After all, Toga considered that it was always better to be a coward and live rather than be a hero and dead. How could he enjoy the crowd's adoration if he were death? He knew that given enough time, he could always win the people back to him. After all, he was their leader, they looked up to and listened to him, there could be no other.

A tall man with blond white hair and a limp approached Toga. "My Lord Toga, please..." he pleaded, "you know that Adric is my son, the only family that I have. Please, can you not help him, my Lord?"

Toga shook his head and could not meet the Nonamer's eyes as he replied, "I am sorry, Aldwen, I cannot. I am needed here to lead our people, it is my destiny. The Nonamers would be lost without me."

The boy's father looked disgusted, then he stood up and shouted to Koden, "I will take the boy's place!"

Koden looked at the middle aged man, noticing his brown cloak, peasant outfit and sneered. "And why would I want you? Either get me Sheppard or Toga, those are the only two whom I'm willing to trade for."

Adric looked at his father in horror. "No! Father, I cannot let you do this!"

Koden laughed. "So, the boy is your son? I must admit, your son has guts, more so than your leader, Toga. But the boy is correct, I do not want you. Either hand me Sheppard, or give me Toga, but I prefer Sheppard, the choice is yours. You have two minutes to make up your mind before I blow a hole into the boy's brain."

o-O-o

As John made his way closer towards the stand-off, Ronon suddenly appeared out from the shadows to pull him aside before the rest of the villagers saw him. "You okay?" The Satedan looked at Sheppard's bleeding form in concern.

"I will be once this is over," John replied grimly. "How many?" He felt slightly out of breath, shaky and feverish. So far he had managed to hold the pain at bay, but he knew that it couldn't last forever.

"The Nonamers took two down, I got two, that leaves three more, including Koden," the Satedan replied.

"Make that two more, I found a dead Genii behind the barn. I take it that you didn't count him?" clarified John.

"No," Ronon replied. "So the Nonamers got three. Not bad."

John nodded as he checked the clip in the weapon that Adric gave him. "OK, not counting Koden, do you know where's the last one?" He placed the handgun behind his back, hidden under the Atlantian jacket.

"No, he's concealed himself well," replied Ronon. Dark eyes noted Sheppard's actions, making the runner frown. "You don't have to do this, Sheppard."

John closed his eyes for a moment and sighed. "Yes I do, Ronon. A kid is dead because of me, another kid might be killed because of me. If I didn't persuade Adric to help us, he wouldn't be in any danger now."

"And we'll be dead instead," Ronon declared. "This is not your fault Sheppard, but Toga's and the Genii. If there's any blame here, it belongs to them, not to you." There was a pause, "Which kid died?"

"Calwen," John replied.

Dex didn't say anything for a while as he recalled the tall skinny youngster with light brown hair, green eyes and a loud laugh. "Good kid," he finally commented.

"Yeah," Sheppard replied, saying nothing else as he looked down at his hands, seeing his own blood mixed with the dead kid that he had tried to save.

"I could try to take him out, even with the boy hostage, I could take the shot," Ronon said. "In fact, I was just about to, when you arrived."

Sheppard shook his head. "No, Ronon, the second Genii probably has his weapon aimed at Adric, even if you do manage to get a clean shot at Koden, the other shooter will probably finish off the kid. That's why Koden is holding Adric partially exposed as he is. He doesn't want a repeat performance of what happened with Kolya when he held Elizabeth as a hostage. If we took him out, his sniper could probably take us and then the kid out at the same time."

Ronon looked at him questioningly.

John shook his head again but this time with impatience. He didn't know how long his strength would last, or how long he could remain conscious, he couldn't afford to stand around explaining things to the Satedan. "Long story, Ronon. Let's just say that I managed to take Kolya down with a shot while he was trying to drag Elizabeth as a hostage through the Stargate when he invaded Atlantis."

The Satedan lifted an impressed eyebrow which slowly turned into a frown. "So, are you intending to surrender yourself to Koden then?"

John locked a determined gaze at the Satedan. "If I don't, the kid's dead. Don't worry, Ronon, I know what I'm doing. I'll take care of Koden. You guard my back and take out the Genii shooter. My bet is, he's probably up on the roof somewhere, or at least from a high vantage point, like a sharp-shooter guarding Koden's back and taking anyone out whose a threat to him. For the moment, I'll be that distraction, but that means that you'll have to track the shooter down first before I can take out Koden."

Ronon nodded, then he removed another weapon and handed it to Sheppard. John looked at it, noticing that it was another handgun. "Koden will expect you to surrender your weapon, you'll need another one for backup."

John smiled. "Thanks," he said. "You're a good man, did you know that?"

Ronon did not reply, yet the look that he gave John told him that the Satedan still wasn't happy with his idea.

As John turned to go, he was halted once again by Ronon. "Be careful, Sheppard. Don't get yourself killed."

John smiled. "You just see to the last Genii and I'll be fine."

Ronon grinned back ferally at him. "I'll hold you to that."

"You do that." John smirked.

o-O-o

"Let the boy go, Koden, I'll take his place," John Sheppard said as he stepped out into the open, revealing himself to the Genii leader who held Adric hostage.

All the Nonamers gathered there looked at the Atlantian in stunned surprise, causing them to whisper amongst themselves. Ronon, partially hidden in the shadows as he scanned the rooftops for the last Genii soldier heard murmurings from the crowd asking each other, "Why does he do that? Why does Sheppard risk his life for one of our own when our leader does not?"

It took Ronon a while, but in the darkness of the night, he eventually thought he spied a darker shadow that moved on the rooftop of a neighbouring house. He aimed the long range weapon that he had retrieved from a Genii soldier at the dark shadow on the rooftop. Now he waited for an opportunity where he could get a clear shot.

o-O-o

"Well, well, well. You impress me Sheppard, I did not expect you to arrive when you had an opportunity to escape. Kolya did tell me that you were an exceptional opponent, one to be respected," Koden said.

John tried to give what he hoped looked like a casual smile. "Yeah, well, here I am. You have what you want, let the kid go." He looked at the Nonamer youngster, "Adric you okay?"

The blond haired boy nodded. His gaze went to Sheppard's new wound and his unhealthy pallor. He could not believe how the colonel could still remain standing; he looked ready to drop on his feet at any instant. His blue-green gaze then went towards his father who was standing a few feet behind Sheppard, and Toga, who was still partially hidden behind the water barrel. His father, Adric saw, was also looking at John with a look of stunned disbelief mixed with gratitude. However, in Toga, Adric saw a look of jealousy and rage cross the Nonamer's features; the reaction from the Nonamer leader surprised and concerned him.

"Sheppard, you don't have to do this!" Adric looked at the dark haired, injured man who stood before him. He felt fearful for his Atlantian friend. He knew that the only reason why Koden wanted Sheppard was to kill him. Sheppard's determined hazel gaze met his.

"Yes I do. Trust me, Adric. Let me handle this."

"This is all very touching, but the reunion's over. Drop your weapon Sheppard. I know that you have one, a soldier like you, will always have one." Koden commanded.

Sheppard smiled, revealed the handgun that he held in his hand, lifted it up, then slowly dropped it to the ground to clatter at his feet. "OK. I lived up to my side of the bargain, now it's your turn. Let the boy go."

Koden smiled. "Not yet," he said as he lifted his weapon, aiming it at Sheppard.

Several things happened at once. Ronon shot the sniper on the roof top; Adric jabbed his elbow as hard as possible into Koden's stomach, then bit down hard on his captive's forearm, making the Genii curse and scream, before he punched Adric at the side of the cheek, making him see stars; at the same time, John grabbed the handgun hidden behind his back, his injuries obviously slowing his reflexes considerably as he turned to aim it at Koden. Adric staggered backwards from the blow, he screamed out "_No!_" as he tried to knock Koden's shot off balance as the Genii turned to aim his weapon back towards Sheppard. However, he was too late. He saw both men turn to fire their weapons at each other, both at the same time. He saw Sheppard stumble backwards as he was hit in the chest. Then Koden's body was suddenly falling on top of him, tumbling both of them to the ground.

Adric frantically pushed Koden's heavy body that fell on him and scrambled away from under it. He kicked the weapon out from the Genii's hand. There was a moan. Koden was still alive. Adric face hardened in anger. This man had shot his best friend Calwen and he had also shot Sheppard! His hand formed into a tight fist and he punched the wounded man hard on the face, knocking him out cold.

_Sheppard! _Adric turned worriedly to see what had happened to the colonel. He saw that the man was lying motionless on the ground with Ronon attending to him. Teyla and Rodney had also just arrived and were crowding around their team leader. Hurriedly, Adric scrambled to his feet, hoping that Sheppard was still alive.

**TBC**

The next chap will probably take a little longer to update. But perhaps if I get lots of reviews, I might get inspired and complete the chap sooner. :D Only one more chapter to go, I think (and possibly an epilogue). Please review!


	8. Return of the Sheppard

Author's note: Moi shoot Sheppard three times? (innocent blinks) It was Koden, an evil meanie Genii, who shot Sheppard not a poor unpaid fanfic writer who only wishes to receive reviews. LOL. :-D

Thanks for the reviews! I did feel the inspiration! So, here's the next update! I hurried as fast as I could. :P I actually never expected this story to complete so quickly so your reviews made all the difference - what a motivator! Muchas gracias to winterelf, Titan5, MacGateFan, Ditzyleo, Baileysmom, drufan, auStraliS, chokolaj, sherryw, reen212000, Harm Marie (I think!) , PyroDragon2006, amsilcox, Reyson, TexasMom, Jules47, Mandy and TheNaggingCube. I was inspired, boy, was I inspired! So, here's the next chap, hope you enjoy!

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**Chap 8: Return of the Sheppard**

_"Let the boy go Koden, I'll take his place." _

From afar, Rodney and Teyla recognised the voice as Sheppard's, as they approached the large crowd of Nonamers gathered to witness the confrontation between Sheppard and Koden.

"No no no no! What does Sheppard think he's doing? He's going to be _so _screwed!" Rodney voiced his concern as he tried to hobble as fast as he could while leaning on Teyla's slim shoulders for support. It felt as if hot daggers of fire were shooting up his leg with each agonising step that he took.

"Hurry Rodney, or we'll be too late!" Teyla said, her own voice tight with worry for John's safely.

"What do you think I'm doing? This is about my top gear with a toasted and shot up foot!" Rodney exclaimed. Nevertheless, he still tried to pick up the pace, as they continued to hear the conversation between Sheppard, Adric and Koden being played out ahead of them.

Pushing their way from amongst the crowd, they arrived just in time to witness the shoot out. To their horror they saw Sheppard stagger backwards as the bullet hit him in the chest.

"Oh God!" Rodney cried out in fear, while Teyla looked grief stricken at the scene they had just witnessed. The bullet looked like it had struck Sheppard in the heart, nobody could survive that!

His wounded leg be damned! Rodney ignored it as best he could and with Teyla's help, he hopped and hobbled as quickly as possible to the body of his fallen friend. _No no no no no! _The litany echoed in his head. There was a crowd now forming around Sheppard's body. However, before they could reach John, Ronon was there first, moving like the wind, roughly pushing the Nonamers out of the way, calling out Sheppard's name as he knelt beside their motionless friend.

o-O-o

Ronon Dex had been too busy targeting the Genii sniper in his weapon's sight to focus on what was going on between Sheppard and Koden. In the darkness of the night, he saw the concealed figure on the roof move, standing up to take aim at the colonel. There was no hesitation in the Satedan; he aimed and fired his long range weapon, feeling the comfort of the weapon's recoil and seeing the shadowy figure topple off the roof. However, his sense of satisfaction was short lived when he heard the twin shots go off a second later a few feet away. Whipping his head around, dreadlocks flying past his neck, he saw the bullet slam into Sheppard's chest and the pilot's body falling backwards by the impact. From the corner of his eye, he also saw Koden collapsing, taking young Adric down with him.

He cursed aloud, anger and fear racing through his heart. Sheppard had promised him that he would be fine if he took care of the sniper... He had _done _his part! He'll be damned if Sheppard didn't live up to his part of the bargain! Sheppard _couldn't _be injured again, worse yet, Sheppard _couldn't _be dead! But he had been in enough battles before to witness shots like that, and in all cases the person hit in such a way turned up dead.

He rushed to the fallen colonel, roughly pushed aside all the Nonamers who were now crowding around the downed man. As Ronon approached Sheppard, it was as he had feared. Sheppard's eyes were closed, his face turned sideways, his spiked hair damp with sweat, his face too pale, his body too still...

"Damn you, Sheppard!" Dex growled, as he knelt beside his team leader, his friend, the one person whom he respected above all else in the Pegasus galaxy. Sheppard had brought him hope; he was the one who had brought Dr Beckett to remove the implant from his back; the man who had saved him from a runner's death.

"We made a deal, Sheppard! You _said _you would be _fine!_" he raged at the motionless man lying lifeless on the ground beside him. He saw the fatal bullet hole centred on Sheppard's chest where the pilot's heart would be. The whole entire top half of John's Atlantian jacket was stained with blood. All three bullet wounds had been received on the left side. He was too late! _Sheppard was dead! _No one could have survived that last bullet wound aimed at the heart. A deep, overpowering grief started to overwhelm him, something that he had not experienced in a long time since the day of his capture by the wraith, the same day the wraith invaded his home planet and killed off all his loved ones, his friends, his family...

"Out of the way!" He heard McKay shout as the scientist pushed his way through the crowd. Ronon looked up, he felt a trail of something hot and wet stream down in his eyes. He grieved now, but a rage was slowly building within him. Soon, he would kill every single surviving Genii in the Nonamer village; he no longer cared whether they were injured or not, he would make them pay for the death of Sheppard. They would all pay for killing his brother-in-arms, his friend, his family.

o-O-o

"Oh god!" McKay looked down at the motionless form of John Sheppard. "Is he... Is he dead?" he asked, his blue eye wide as he stared in shock at his closest friend. "No no no no! _He can't be dead!_" Rodney stammered, unable to look, but seeing the look on Ronon's face and knowing the answer that he refused to accept in his mind, in his heart, in his suddenly empty soul.

"Have you checked, Ronon?" Teyla asked softly. Her face portrayed her deep grief; her voice although relatively calm had an odd tremor in it. "Have you checked whether he has a pulse?"

Ronon shook his head. "What's the point?" he growled, his rage reaching close to boiling point. "We all saw where he was hit."

Rodney shook his head. "No, no! He has to be alive, he _can't _be dead!" he repeated the words. With great difficulty, he knelt down beside Sheppard's still body, ignoring the pulsating pain of the burn on his lower leg and bleeding foot. In fact, this time, he welcomed the pain, it was nothing in comparison to the pain his felt in his heart at the loss of his closest friend: the crazy, infuriating pilot who somehow found a way through his sarcasm and verbal onslaught that he used as a barrier to keep most people at bay. The colonel had somehow, without Rodney even realising it, become his friend, in fact, his best friend. He felt a huge lump at the back of his throat and a heaviness weigh down his heart. His eyes was beginning to sting and he furiously blinked away the threatening tears. _I will not cry! I will not cry!_ he told himself over and over again.

Suddenly Teyla gripped Rodney's arm and gasped aloud, "Rodney, Ronon! I saw him move! His hand... I saw it move!"

"What?" Both men uttered the words at the same time. The two men turned back towards John's hand. However, they saw no movement there.

"He is still alive. By the Ancestors' honour, I swear, I saw his finger move!" Teyla said with determination and anxious hope in her voice; it was as if she feared what she had just seen was but a dream.

One thing Rodney knew about Teyla was that she never exaggerated. He trusted her implicitly. Hope flared. _Please be alive! Please be alive! _The internal monologue ran in Rodney's head as he pulled open the blood covered Atlantian jacket. Underneath it was a black t-shirt also stained with blood. At any other time, the sight of so much blood would have made him queasy, but this time, the urgency of the moment overrode all queasiness that he may have had. He tore open the t-shirt and gaped in shock. Sheppard's chest was stained with blood, but it wasn't because of a bullet wound in the chest, but from the blood of his earlier left shoulder wound. However, at the area where a bullet hole should have been was a deep bruise instead. The chest below him pulsed weakly with life.

"He's alive!" McKay gasped out looking at Teyla and Ronon with growing excitement and an overwhelming sense of relief. "Oh, thank God! Sheppard's still alive!" The crazy smile formed at the corner of his lips that he couldn't seem to control.

"You sure?" Ronon asked, taking a closer look, needing to check for himself that what Rodney said was true. The Satedan's stance revealed the relief he felt as he found a pulse. Teyla closed her eyes and mouthed a silent prayer of gratitude to the spirit of the Ancestors before opening them again and giving her two teammates an overflowing smile.

"But I saw him take a direct hit in the heart, how is that possible?" One of the Nonamers on-lookers asked. By now, there were many Nonamers crowding around Sheppard's body and the Atlantian team. Everybody looked at Rodney for an answer.

Rodney, who was now grinning from ear to ear pulled out Sheppard's dog tags. In the middle of one of the dog tags was an indent the shape of a bullet's impact. Somehow, by some miracle and a millionth to one chance, the bullet had struck Sheppard's dog tags that he wore under his black t-shirt. Already weakened by his other two injuries, the force of impact was enough to knock the pilot to the ground and render him unconscious.

"He has been blessed by the Ancestors!" one of the villagers voiced in awe. "Never have I seen such a thing!" The others nodded in agreement.

"He is truly a great leader that you said he was, Adric." One of the young men said to Nonamer youngster who had just arrived. The murmurings and admiration of the villagers continued. Teyla smiled, wondering how John would feel to know that as he lay unconscious, he was gathering an entire village of adulating fans. Her smile widened when she realised that it would make him very uncomfortable indeed. He wasn't into 'hero worship' preferring to keep a low profile instead.

Rodney turned back towards Sheppard, checking his vitals. There was a pulse, it was weak and a little erratic but it was there. Rodney turned towards the Nonamers gathered around them, in their midst he saw the boy Adric staring at Sheppard looking at him in awe.

"Do you have any healers nearby?" Rodney asked as he quickly removed his jacket, noticed that half of it was burned, grimaced in disgust, then he folded it and placed it gently under Sheppard's head. While they could take Sheppard back to Atlantis, it was still a reasonable distance away. Sheppard would not be able to handle the journey there. He needed medical treatment immediately. It was better if Sheppard received treatment from the Nonamers first, even if it was voodoo science, but it was better than no treatment at all. One of the villagers nodded and ran off to get a healer. Later, Rodney would ask Teyla or Ronon to track back to the Stargate to radio Atlantis for a Puddle Jumper to come and retrieve them. They'll request for Carson to be included in the rescue team.

Adric removed his cloak and placed it gently on Sheppard's body like a blanket. All three of Sheppard's team nodded their thanks to the youngster. There was a moan, Rodney looked down and noticed movement from Sheppard. The colonel was beginning to regain consciousness...

o-O-o

There was pain, a deep throbbing pain in his left shoulder, in his left arm and even in his chest. John moaned. He hurt. Boy, did he hurt. He felt hands on him, one on his uninjured shoulder, and another, a smaller one on his forehead, gently stroking his hair. His head was lying on something soft. There were voices around him, lots of them. At first he could not make out the words, but then slowly the roaring in his ears subsided and he heard his name being called by the members of his team.

When he finally opened his eyes, he saw Rodney, Teyla and Ronon all staring down at him with relief and worried looks mixed in their faces. "Hey, everyone all right?" he managed a weak croak.

"Yes, Sheppard, everyone's fine," Rodney said, giving his shoulder a reassuring pat.

"Adric?" he asked, wondering about the boy.

"He is fine, Colonel. It is you whom we were worried about," Teyla replied giving him a comforting smile, as she removed her hand from his head.

"Thank you, Sheppard. You saved my life," Adric said, staring at him brightly from where he stood.

John turned his head and saw the blond haired boy looking down at him with a grin on his battered features.

"You okay?" he asked again, frowning slightly at the sight of the boy's bleeding head and the impressive bruise forming on the youngster's right cheek. The boy nodded back at him.

"Good," John murmured before closing his eyes for a minute or two to gather his strength. He felt sick, weak, and everything hurt like hell.

"Sheppard? You doing okay?" he heard Rodney ask as the scientist's hand nudged his uninjured shoulder in concern.

He opened his eyes again to look quizzically at the hand, then down at the brown cloak that was covering his form. "Yeah," he muttered, pursing his mouth into a line and wetting his parched lips with his tongue. He frowned. The last thing he recalled was being shot by Koden. His right hand lifted and went towards his chest, feeling the soreness of a painful bruise there, but there didn't appear to be any new bullet wound to his astonishment.

"Your dog tags saved you," Rodney offered an explanation.

"What?" he asked, looking up at McKay, still confused.

Blue eyes met dazed hazel ones. "By some wild miracle, the bullet hit your dog tags instead. Otherwise you'll be flying with the angels. In fact, for a moment there, you gave us quite a scare."

"We thought you were dead, Sheppard." Dark Satedan eyes glared accusingly at Sheppard.

John remembered the deal he had made with Ronon and felt guilty about it. By some stroke of fate or possibly dump luck he had escaped death, otherwise he knew that he would be a corpse by now.

"You owe me one, Sheppard. You said that you were going to be fine if I took out the sniper," the Satedan said.

"I am, aren't I?" John tried to squeak out a defense, still stunned at his good fortune.

The Satedan shook his head. "It doesn't count, Sheppard. You still got yourself shot at. I _thought _you were _dead_."

Ronon did not say anything else but by the emphasis of his words, John knew how much he had scared and angered the Satedan at the thought that Sheppard hadn't kept his part of the deal. He nodded his head, accepting that he shouldn't have made a promise that he knew he couldn't keep. "So what do I owe you?" he finally asked wearily.

The former runner stared at him for a moment before replying, "You get better first, then I'll claim what you owe. Nothing major, just enough so that you remember to keep your word the next time we make a deal."

"So an apology wouldn't do?" John asked hopefully.

"No," the Satedan replied with a wolfish grin.

o-O-o

The healer that the Nonamers called soon arrived. It wasn't long before John had morphine, antibiotics and other necessary drugs administered to him. They were currently using the medicines that Atlantis that sent over as a sample of good faith when Sheppard's team had arrived on the second day of their negotiation with the Nonamers.

The healer also brought a stretcher for Sheppard, but John shook his head. He really hated having to lay on his back while he was carried on a stretcher like an invalid and preferred to go to the Nonamer infirmary under his own power.

"I'll walk," he said.

"Are you sure, Colonel?" Teyla asked in concern, looking doubtful at John that he was capable of such a feat.

With morphine in his system, the pain wasn't so bad anymore. However, he still felt weak and dizzy, which he knew accounted for blood loss and the fact that he was also suffering from a high fever due to infection from his injuries. The Nonamer healer had informed him as such, which was why he argued that John should use the stretcher instead. But stubbornness worn out. He considered Teyla's question and decided that he wasn't about to tell the Athosian the truth about how he felt. After feeling helpless for so long, tied to the stake, waiting for their execution, he felt the need to be in control of the situation. Even if it was something as minor as walking on his own two legs to the Nonamer infirmary.

"Yeah, I'll be fine," Sheppard replied. "Here, give me a hand, guys."

Ronon and Rodney quickly helped him to his feet. He stood still for several moments, waiting for the ground to stop swimming and to settle, while he held onto Rodney's shoulder for support, while Rodney, with his injury foot and burned leg, held onto Teyla's shoulder for support. Ronon, in the meantime, went to retrieve his discarded weapon from the ground. They were about to leave for the Nonamer infirmary when a shout halted them.

"Sheppard!" Toga called out in an almost unrecognisable voice filled with hate.

John turned around to look curiously at the Nonamer leader, wondering what he wanted.

"You are _not _blessed by the Ancestors! _I _am the _only _leader of my people, you are _nothing _but a _pretender _and a _liar!_ My people shall see the truth of your ways!" Toga screamed, his face crazed with envy and jealousy. He could not handle anyone else having the admiration of his people. That role belonged solely to him! The Nonamers were _his _people! They should only look up to _him!_ Jealousy overrode all rational thought. His hand reached inside his cloak and he pulled out a weapon, aiming it at Sheppard. The colonel would not be able to escape death a second time. He would make sure of that! Before he could pull the trigger, there were multiple gun blasts. The first shot came from behind Toga, the second from Ronon's weapon, and the third from Adric's father.

John, Rodney, Teyla and the Nonamer villagers witnessed in stunned silence as Toga tried to say something before he toppled dead to the ground. With a low growl, Ronon turned his weapon to point at the person who had taken the first shot. He would have pulled the trigger if Sheppard hadn't stopped him with a firm command. "Ronon. No!"

Koden, the Genii leader, flashed John Sheppard a brief unreadable smile. He saluted John with his weapon and dropped the smoking handgun to the ground in a gesture of surrender.

"I personally never liked that man," Koden explained, his hand now gripping his wounded and bleeding shoulder. Sheppard's bullet had hit him ironically in the left shoulder, the same spot where he had first shot the colonel.

"You deserved a better death, Sheppard." Koden continued. "A death given _by _a warrior _to _a warrior. Not by some cowardly traitor who loved his own skin more than his people. After all, you have been an exceptional opponent, Colonel. You see, there is a soldier's code of honour even among the Genii."

Aldwen gazed at Koden after looking at Toga's dead body with disgust, then he approached Sheppard, gave him a respectful bow and said, "My Lord Sheppard, what should we do with him and the other surviving Genii? Should we kill them?"

McKay who was standing next to Teyla raised his eyebrows and mouthed silently to her '_My Lord?_'. Teyla noted the query, knowing that the Adric's father had just given John the title reserved only for the most honoured among their people. Previously that title had been addressed to their leader, Toga. It appeared that the Nonamers now regarded Colonel Sheppard in that role.

Sheppard however did not see the respectful bow, nor had he noticed the title reference. His gaze was still locked on Koden. He was also having a hard time staying conscious and remaining on his feet. Blood loss and his injuries were finally taking their toll on him. However, he did hear the last part of Aldwen's query. _What indeed to do with Koden? _He frowned as he considered the question. He shot a brief look at his team before he finally turned towards the Nonamer and gave his reply.

o-O-o

**TBC**

Author's note: Did you believe that Sheppard had died when you read Ronon's POV? I was a little concerned that readers might abandon this fic if they thought so without continuing reading to the end. (Do you guys do that?) What did you think about Toga and Koden's actions, and Nonamers calling Sheppard 'my Lord', or anything else that you wish to comment about? I did my best to get this chapter out as early as possible as I really didn't want to give you guys heart attacks or any other health problems. The last few days, I've been busy working late, trying to meet deadlines, so this was the best I could do. Believe me, this update is earlier than what I anticipated (as I've been working on this chapter regularly every night), otherwise it would have been ready sometime only mid next week. So your reviews really _did _make a difference! For those who are reading and haven't reviewed yet, please review, and for those who have reviewed, thank you very much, and please continue to review, and I'll be eternally grateful. :) Only an Epilogue to go, then I'll be out of your hair. :p


	9. Boys Just Wanna Have Fun!

Author's note: Ho! Ho! Ho! A Christmas pressie comes early. An additional chapter! This fic is going to end up with ten chapters instead of the estimated nine. Based on comments from reviewers, I felt I needed to come up with an explanation about why the dog tags were strong enough to withstand the bullet. I never knew they were made of aluminum, so should have done my homework first... hmmm. Anyway, let's hope the explanation works. Kinda cliche too maybe, but oh well. LOL. As your reviews were soooo awesome, I just had to thank everyone individually (takes a deep breath):

**-Titan5** - Thanks for being the first to review and for answering my questions, loved reading your comments! Too many times to count huh? You must have had heaps & heaps & heaps of fun:-D  
**-Jules47 **- Oh, sooo glad to hear that! Loved hearing that you loved the team's reactions! Does an extra chapter count as a maybe a little 'next fic?' LOL  
**-PyroDragon2006** - Delighted to hear that Ronon's POV worked. I didn't realise that dog tags were made only of thin metal so I'm learning something new every day.  
**-drufan** - Oh it's very nice and snuggly up here, nest is doing very well, many thanks, soon there'll be little chirping sounds! LOL. I loved reading your feedback in letting me know which part you liked!  
**-dragonfairymaiden** - Thrilled to bits to hear that the tension building worked:)  
**-lemons and wraith oh my** - Oh, so happy to hear that you're enjoying this and that I got things right. Is this update early enough for you?  
-**sherryw** - Loved reading your review and thanks so much! I've decided to heed your advice and coughed out an extra chapter for you!  
**-MacGateFan **- Oh my! So glad to hear that you didn't get a heart attack, else we might have to call for Carson Beckett for you! Loved reading your reactions and all your lovely comments too.  
**-Mandy** - You're right... guilty as charged! It's cliche but it was the only thing I could think of at the time! ;D Thanks too for letting me know the things that you liked.  
**-chokolaj** - Thanks for the lovely feedback, loved them, I'll keep my fingers crossed that RL treats you better soon!  
**-jasminesmommy** - Glad that you liked the twist! I love it when people don't expect it as that's when you know the story works!  
**-SuperMiss** - It was a bit like a miracle wasn't it? Maybe a Christmas miracle? LOL. Happy to hear that you enjoyed the latter chapters and decided to review.  
**-auStraliS** - Many others commented the same thing too, so I knew what you meant, no worries. :) Thanks so much for your comments, they were a delight to read. :D  
**-neptune60** - Oh my, really enjoyed your comments, esp what you liked and your reactions & explanations to them. This chapter should answer all your questions about what happens next.  
**-StarSkimmer** - Glad that you liked the little girl and hair bit! I had fun writing it. Loved reading your reactions to Shep's 'death'!  
**-Harm Marie** - Thanks for the review and for writing longer this time.  
**-Ditzyleo** - No I didn't... um.. I mean Koden didn't put another hole in Lord Shep! LOL. Hopefully you are happy with the extra chapter!  
**-TheNaggingCube - **Why thank you! Action always does speak louder than words, doesn't it? And John proved his worth by his actions. Hope you're happy with the extra chap!

* * *

**Chap 9: Boys Just Wanna Have Fun!**

It was dawn, the morning was still frosty and the sun had just peaked its rays over the mountain top. The Stargate kawooshed to life and twelve figures stepped out from the blue rippled horizon. As soon as Kolya stepped out from the gate, the sight that greeted him made him instantly go into an alert mode. He quickly scanned the nearby landscape and spotted several long range weapons poking out from the thick foliage that encircled the large clearing before them. They were surrounded by many armed Nonamers, perhaps thirty or so at a rough estimate. He knew that he and his men would not be able to win a battle against so many, and certainly not when the Nonamers had their weapons' sights already aimed at them.

Kolya frowned. It appeared that since his last communication with Koden, things had taken a dramatic turn for the worse; somehow Colonel Sheppard and his team must have escaped their burning at the stake and had gotten the Nonamers to turn the tables on Koden and his men. It seemed that since meeting the Atlantian colonel, these peasants had grown some considerable teeth. There could be no other explanation. The Nonamers were willing to fight the Genii; something that he would not have expected, especially not after meeting their leader Toga. He knew that when he first met the man, that Toga was all show and tell: the Nonamer made a good diplomat, he was well spoken and charming, but at the end of the day Toga had no guts - he was very different from Sheppard. He wondered what happened to the chubby red haired man, was he taken in by Sheppard's arguments or was he dethroned by his people? Kolya looked around again, the fact that he and his men were still alive, that they had not been shot down as soon as they stepped out from the gate, meant that these people only wanted them gone from their homeworld; they did not want a fight.

He signaled for his men to remain where they were as he strode towards the three bound Genii prisoners left at the centre of the clearing. He could see that they were injured by the bandages around their limbs. Placed beside them were the bodies of four dead Genii soldiers, all lain in a row in a respectable manner. A large piece of cloth covered them. He didn't even need to check their faces; he knew they were his men by the sight of Koden and his two soldiers tied together with their mouths taped shut. Around the neck of each men was a thick paper board tied to a piece of string with words written on them.

Kolya's frown deepened. He scrutinised the surviving Genii soldiers and wondered why they were all bald; each one of them had their heads shaven to the skin - as hairless and smooth as a baby's bottom. Gazing wordlessly at them, he finally approached Koden, lifted the paper board that hung around the man's neck and read the text on it. The hand written words said: _"Genii, depart from here and never return. Your alliance with the Nonamers have ended. You and your men are surrounded; we are armed and ready to fight for what is ours."_

Dark eyes darted towards Koden, the man before him looked at him for a moment, then Koden's gaze swiveled to the ground in shame. Kolya sighed, he did not bother to remove the tape from the Genii's mouth; they had failed, they were surrounded by armed Nonamers, what else was there to know? He moved to read the next message on the other bound Genii. This one said: "_A package for Kolya. We return your surviving men, unharmed and their injuries treated. The bodies of your dead, we also return to you for burial. The only gesture of good faith we are willing to give, do not push our hospitality." _

He finally approached the third man, and recognised him as Kalan; he recalled that this soldier used to have a thick ponytail and that he had a tendency to cut a bit off his victim's hair as a souvenir. He studied him, noticing the broken nose and bandaged arm. The bald look did not sit well on this one. At the back of Kalan's pale shinny head, Kolya lifted an eyebrow in amusement as he noticed that there was a picture drawn on it with a thick black ink marker. It was a cartoon representation of a man with dreadlocks; the name 'Ronon' was spelt directly on top of Kalan's head. In spite of himself, he barked out a laugh and saw the man before him go taunt with fury. It looked like Kalan had finally met his match with this Ronon fellow. Kolya always found Kalan's habit of cutting his opponent's hair distasteful. Perhaps the man would now learn his lesson. He saw Kalan's eyes burning with hatred for the Atlantians. Good, he could use that. He needed men who hated the Atlantians for he could use them for his own purpose in the future.

He dropped his gaze and read the last message left for them: _"Your men's new look is courtesy of Ronon Dex. Never piss off a Satedan. The next time you want us, come and get us yourself. We'll be waiting. The next time we meet, you'll be dead, Kolya. No more second chance - Sheppard."_

Kolya looked at the note and smiled. He had to respect the man, especially an enemy that was his equal. Yes, this one was very different from Toga. "An exceptional opponent indeed. I think shall enjoy our next encounter, Sheppard. And I shall be more prepared, I promise you. You wouldn't escape us so easily the next time," he whispered softly to himself.

He turned his head and his face hardened as he sighted the four covered bodies of his soldiers. Sheppard would pay for those deaths in a most painful and excoriating way, but not now, not today. He stood up, turned back to look at Koden and his men and ordered the others to free them. Casually, he took a last lingering gaze at their surroundings, his eyes paused once again at the hidden Nonamer weapons aimed at them. He knew that the Nonamers were watching them, waiting for them to depart. He would give them their wish. The alliance with the Nonamers was over; the Genii needed nothing more from these people. He turned back, ordered one of his men to dial up the gate again and for the remaining men to carry their dead. It was time to return home.

o-O-o

John's last wakening memory was trying to make his way back to the Nonamer infirmary under his own steam. One minute he was putting one foot in front of the other, and the next, it was as if someone had switch off all the lights and he knew nothing more. The next thing he remembered was waking up back in Atlantis, seeing all of his team gathered around him as he opened his eyes, while laying on an infirmary bed. Rodney was propped up comfortably on the bed next to his, busy typing on his laptop - his leg and foot heavily bandaged and slightly elevated. In fact, it was the sound of McKay's typing that had woken him up.

At his return to consciousness, his team informed him that he had collapsed while trying to make his way back to the Nonamer infirmary. Ronon had caught him before he hit the ground and had placed him on the stretcher. The Nonamers had also gotten a second stretcher for Rodney so that he didn't need to walk on his wounded foot. However, this had only occurred after the scientist started to complain about it in the first place. Rodney had complained that he wasn't impressed by that fact.

Dr Beckett had arrived in the puddlejumper a few hours later, taking them back to Atlantis. Teyla had gone to the gate to radio for help earlier. They also informed John that he had spent five hours in surgery while Carson removed two bullets from his body and fixed up the damage done by the path of the bullets.

Carson then arrived and informed him that he wouldn't be able to use his left arm for a while and that he would have to undergo a lot of physical therapy in order to regain his limb's strength.

"You also lost quite a lot of blood, Colonel," Beckett informed him, "You were getting seriously anemic, and I had to give you a blood transfusion. When you arrived back at Atlantis, you were a mess, literally: gunshot wounds, blood loss, infection, the whole shebang. You almost gave me heart attack especially when I saw the entire left front side of your jacket covered with blood. And when Rodney told us about the near miss of the bullet hitting your dogtags instead of your heart..." Carson, took a deep breath as if to calm himself down at the memory. Blue eyes flickered back at Sheppard again. "All, I can say is, you were bloody lucky, son. It's fortunate that a few months ago, Stargate Command decided to issue all Atlantis personnel with these new dogtags made of steel instead of light aluminum. If you were wearing the old tags, they wouldn't have been able to stop the bullet from penetrating your heart."

"Yeah, lucky..." John murmured, his right hand moved to rub at the still painful bruise on his chest. His thoughts went to the young Nonamer kid, Calwen, who hadn't been so lucky. "How many Nonamers didn't make it?"

His team shared a look with one another as if wondering how much to tell him. His frown deepened. "Rodney?" he finally asked.

Rodney cleared his throat, "Yes, well according to the reports we received, the Nonamers lost two people that night, the kid, Calwen, being one of them. But later the next day, another one died as a result of her injuries. There were five other villagers injured when the shooting began, but they should be well again, given time."

"Aye," Carson replied, "I had sent some medical personnel to help out with the injured. According to my people, when they finally left the Nonamers to return to Atlantis, all the remaining injured were doing fine and on the mend."

"When they finally returned to Atlantis? How long have I been out?" Sheppard asked, fearing that he wouldn't like the answer.

"Three days," Carson replied. "You've been unconscious for three days due to the severity of your injuries and the fact that your body needed time to recover from all the trauma that it received."

"Three days..." John repeated the words. It felt strange to wake three days later, to know that so much time had passed. The frown was still on his face. "And the Genii?"

At this question, his team beamed. Rodney informed him about the notes that they had written to the Genii based on Sheppard's instructions. "I wrote all the messages and even signed off one in your name, Sheppard," he commented, sounding pleased with himself. "Ronon actually came up with the idea of shaving their heads, I wished you could have seen the little piece of artwork that he did on that Genii, Kalan. You know, the one that sliced a piece of Ronon's dreadlock? It appears that our friendly Satedan is quite an artist. I didn't know you could do self-portraits, big guy."

Ronon grinned back a reply. "I used to draw when I was a kid."

John lifted an amused eyebrow, turned towards the Satedan with a lopsided smile. "Oh reeeally?" He was finding this tale much to his liking. "And where did you do your...uh... masterpiece, may I ask?"

Teyla now smiled, flashed Ronon an amused look and answered for the Satedan. "I believe it was at the back of Kalan's newly shaved head. Ronon made sure that Kalan was well aware of what he was doing the entire time, Colonel."

"Yes, I have never heard the big guy talk so much before," Rodney cut in. He swiveled his head to look at the Satedan sitting casually in the chair, his long legs stretched out in a relaxed, lazy manner. "I especially liked it when you said: '_I am now drawing my piece of dreadlock, the one that you cut off._' I also liked the bit where you said: _'"Ronon" is now written on top of your bald head. It can be your hat'_. Hah! That was classic! You should have seen the face of the Genii when he said that, Sheppard! A pure Kodak moment!"

"I wish I _had..._" John said, throughly awake now and totally enjoying the tale.

Ronon who had his armed folded across his chest, grinned at the memory. "Yeah," the Satedan responded, his grin widened as he drawled, "I also informed the Genii that it was all done in _permanent _marker."

"You mean he wouldn't be able to wash it off?" Sheppard coughed out a laugh. It was a good sound that all his team enjoyed hearing, and they laughed together with him.

The Satedan shrugged his shoulders, "So the Nonamers informed me when they provided me with it."

"I believed you not only _informed_ the man, Ronon, but you did it with a _great _deal of pleasure," Teyla chided the tall Satedan lightly.

"I believe the word that you're looking for Telya, is _'gloated'_," John added with a chuckle. "Wished I had been awake to have seen that."

"Well, the next time we go for a trade negotiation, remind me to bring my camera. Actually, I _did _bring along my digital camera, I just _forgot _to use it," Rodney uttered in annoyance.

"So, what happened to the Genii? Did it all worked out as planned?" John asked.

His team nodded.

"Yes. By the time the Genii arrived, we were already back in Atlantis. However, Adric's father radioed in later to tell us the news that everything went according to plan. Kolya came, read the messages, retrieved his men and left, just as you said they would," Rodney stated proudly.

Teyla now spoke up, looking at him with a glint in her eyes. "The Nonamers have requested your presence back to the village as soon as you're feeling up to it, Colonel."

"Yes," McKay added, "They mentioned something about wanting to speak to you personally, my _Lord _Sheppard."

"What did you just call me?" John asked Rodney, not liking the sound of it and suddenly suspicious when he saw all three members of his team exchanging unreadable grins.

"Oh?" Rodney lifted an eyebrow and blinked innocently. "Nothing, I called you Sheppard, that was all."

Something was up, his team knew something that he didn't. John's frown deepened, his suspicions heightening. "Do you know what's it about? Does he want to complete the trade negotiation? Is Adric's father the leader of the Nonamers now?"

Again odd looks were exchanged and they shook their heads.

"We do not know, Colonel. However, he did mention something about a burial ceremony for the three Nonamers killed. Afterwards, they will be celebrating an election of a new leader," Teyla finally spoke up. "This will be the first time and something new for the Nonamers, for previously they have always been ruled by Toga's family. With the passing of Toga, and as he had no children and was unmarried, they have to choose a new leader."

John looked at Teyla. She seemed a little sad. "Are you okay, Teyla? I know that he was your friend..."

The Athosian's gaze swung towards him and John was surprised to see hot fire in her eyes.

"I am well, John. Toga does not deserve my sorrow, he betrayed us to the Genii, he tried to kill you while you stood unarmed and wounded. And all for what? Jealousy? Pride? Power? I do not know, I think perhaps all three. I wonder whether he ever knew the meaning of friendship, of trust. I wonder how he could have been so different from his father..."

"Perhaps there was a mix-up at birth?" McKay muttered.

Teyla shook her head, there was sorrow in her voice. "No," she commented, looking down at her hands. "I think that somewhere along the way, he lost himself, he forgot about the teachings of his father. Soon, all he began to care about was himself, thinking only about his place among the people, he acted not for the people but for himself."

"But you still mourn for the man that you once knew." This statement came surprisingly from Ronon, who was eying the Athosian in the strange manner, as if he knew what she was feeling. Sheppard wondered who had betrayed the Satedan in the past.

Dark eyes lifted towards the former runner and Teyla's shoulders slumped further. "Yes," she sighed, "Toga had not always been this way. He was different once, but that was a long time ago."

"Hmmph, I wonder whether the Nonamers will have a burial ceremony for Toga?" Rodney murmured softly.

Teyla shook her head. "They only mentioned three burials, so perhaps not."

John pursed his lips, he was not good at this comfort thing. "Hey, you okay?" he asked the Athosian again, his voice gentle.

She looked up at him, smiled and nodded her head. "Yes, I am fine, John. I am just sorry that three Nonamers had to lose their lives, and that you and Rodney were injured, due to Toga's betrayal."

Sheppard nodded, recalling once again the young man in the Nonamer football team who had been killed. The kid had been so scared as he lay dying. John only hoped that his presence there had helped ease some of Calwen's fears; that he had been some source of help to the kid at the end.

"When's the funeral?" he finally asked. His smile was gone. He had to attend it, it was the least he could do for these people. It was the least he could do for young Calwen.

"Two days time," Rodney replied, his voice now solemn.

"Then tell the Nonamers that we'll be there in two days," Sheppard said.

"Now look here, Colonel," Carson interjected, "I don't know whether you'll be fit enough for this. You only just woke up, your body might not be up to it." However, the determined look that Sheppard shot at the Scottish doctor stopped further arguments.

John sighed. He really hated having to explain his feelings to others. "Please, doc, I have to do this. These people risked their lives and died for us, I... I need to do this, Carson."

"Yeah, but nobody would have died if Toga hadn't betrayed us to the Genii in the first place," Rodney cut in.

"That may be so, Rodney, but it still doesn't excuse the fact that a seventeen year old kid is dead, and so are two other Nonamers. They died helping us out, Rodney," Sheppard replied.

Carson sighed, "All right Colonel, I'll allow you to go, but only if I come along to keep an eye on you."

John smiled. "Deal, doc, and thanks."

**TBC**

Author's note: Next chapter will be the Epilogue I promised. Ronon likes having his fun, doesn't he? Please don't forget to review!


	10. Epilogue

**Author's note:**

Sorry for the delay in posting this last chapter as I had a lot of loose ends to tie up, therefore there was a lot to write. Hope that the delay was worth the wait. Anyway, once again, I would like to thank all those who left feedback in my last chapter, especially, Titan5, trekbones, sherryw, drufan, PyroDragon2006, StarSkimmer, Mandy, jasminesmommy, amsilcox, reen21200, auStraliS, MacGateFan, Ditzyleo, TheNaggingCube, TangledPencils, Harm Marie & chokolaj. I loved reading your comments. You guys are the best! Here's the final chapter as promised, it monstrously long, but it should make up for those of you who wanted extra chapters.

* * *

**Chap 10: Epilogue**

Two days later, the Stargate came to life. Lt Colonel John Sheppard and his team stepped out from the gate to be greeted a Nonamer whom they had not met before. He was a solemn looking man, wearing a long grey tunic and dark trousers. As he approached them, he gave them a low respectful bow, then handed a note to John.

John took the note to read it. It said: _"It is the tradition of our people that on the ceremonial send-off day for our dead, not a single word is spoken before the event. It is in the silence that we honour and remember the lives of those who are lost to us. After the send-off ceremony, my son Adric will have the honour of guiding you to town, where you will be refreshed with instructions on where to proceed later. For now, please follow Jolenar who will take you to the site where we await to farewell our lost ones."_

Sheppard passed on the note to the rest of his team, while their guide Jolenar waited patiently for them to read it. Once everyone understood the need for silence, John smiled to their guide and nodded for the man to lead the way. It wasn't long before the Atlantian team reached what looked like the edge of a large lake. On their side of the lake, there was a large group of Nonamers, all dressed in solemn colours of grey, except for two people. On the ground at the edge of the lake were three wooden canoes, the dead lay inside them covered with clothes of royal blue. Bouquets of pretty flowers were placed on top of them.

At the arrival of Sheppard and his team, the funeral ceremony quickly began. Nobody spoke or looked at them, nor did the Nonamers look at each other - each seemed lost in their own personal thoughts. A man and a woman approached the canoes. Sheppard assumed that they were some sort of priest and priestess for they were dressed in long white robes with intricate patterns sewn on them. First, the man bend his head to say a silent prayer, his actions echoed by the woman, then all the other Nonamers there followed suit. It looked like half the villagers had turned out for the ceremony. The priest and priestess then took an incense burner each and started to bless the dead with them.

As the waft of incense smell reached Sheppard's nostrils, he looked up and saw Adric, standing a few feet away also dressed in solemn grey. His blond head was bowed, the youngster was obviously grieving at the loss of a friend. Occasionally, the young man would lift a finger to wipe angrily at a tear that escaped at the corner of his eyes.

John pursed his lips into a thin line, knowing how the boy felt as he thought back to the friends he had lost in Afghanistan. His thoughts then turned towards the boy the Nonamers were burying today, the kid, Calwen: the boy whom he had taught football to. The kid whom he had barely known. He felt the familiar sense of regret, grief and loss for one so young. It reminded him again of all those whom he had known in his military career; those who had lost their lives in Afghanistan: Mitch, Dex, Holland, the list went on; and those who had died in the Pegasus galaxy: Sumner, Grodin, Gall and others.

John closed his own eyes and bowed his head, thinking once again of Calwen and hoping that wherever the kid was, he was in a happier place now. As he stood there, he also paid his silent respects to the other two Nonamers who had been killed by the Genii. He did not personally know them, but he appreciated what they had done for him and his team. He opened his eyes again when he heard moving and splashing sounds to see Adric and a couple of other Nonamers moving the canoes into the water. There was a long rope attached to the front of each canoe and once the canoes were in the water, the small group of people waiting on the other side of the lake began pulling at the ropes. As the canoes began moving towards the other side of the lake, Sheppard stood in rigid military style mode and gave the dead Nonamers a departing soldier's salute. '_Goodbye, Calwen,'_ he thought sadly to himself, _'I'm sorry I couldn't do anything to save you.'_

As he continued to stare at the departing canoes, he didn't see the Nonamer youngsters, Adric included, note his soldier's stance and action; then each youngster solemnly imitated Sheppard's farewell salute to their dead friends.

o-O-o

They watched the canoes float in the water until they reached the other side of the lake. Once the canoes reached their destination, a lone musician started to play an instrument that sounded like a Scottish bagpipe; its woeful tune echoed sadly across the land to reach the watching on-lookers. The Nonamers on the other side then lifted up the canoes to their shoulders and carried the dead away to be buried in private else where. A couple of them carried what appeared to be small cages covered with a cloth.

When the funeral procession was no longer in sight, the Nonamers standing around Sheppard's team quickly began to depart. Adric said farewell the rest of his friends, then approached Sheppard and his team. Up close, John noticed that the young man's face glistered slightly from the tears that he had shed for Calwen. He smiled at Adric, glad to see that the youngster looked better than when he last saw him. The bruises on Adric's face were now fading, and only a small stripe of bandage remained on the boy's forehead where he had been struck by Koden.

"My lord Sheppard, it is good to see you again!" Adric greeted him, giving John a respectful bow and a smile.

Sheppard lifted an amused eyebrow. "Since when did you start calling me 'my lord', Adric?" he asked. "You've always called me Sheppard or Colonel Sheppard before and I'd rather we stayed with that. I take it, we're allowed to talk now?"

Adric grinned up at him. "Yes, and if you say so, Colonel Sheppard. Are you well?" he asked, looking at John's bandaged arm and sling, frowning slightly.

Sheppard grinned back at the kid. "I'm fine. Never better," he replied. When he saw Carson shaking his head in mock despair at him, he quickly amended his words, "Well, almost fine. But I am well enough to be here."

Adric nodded, pleased to hear the reassurance.

"So, what happens now?" John asked.

"I'm to take you back to our village. If you will please follow me."

Adric led the way as they began walking through a grove beside a slow moving creek. During the journey back to the village, the youngster appeared solemn and quiet, unlike his normal cheerful self.

Telya finally spoke, breaking the silence about them. "Adric, I am unfamiliar with your people's funeral rites, but why were we not present at the burial ceremony itself?"

The boy looked up. "That is reserved for the family members only. Those people that you saw on the other side of the lake would be the family members of the three who are no longer of this world. They are the only ones allowed at the burial site where they would bury their loved ones and say their personal goodbyes. Once their spirits have been released from their bodies, their families would return and join us in the celebration that we'll have later."

"I'm sorry, I do not understand," Carson asked curiously. "How can the spirit of the dead be released?"

Adric turned to look at the Scottish doctor in puzzlement. "By releasing the birds that they brought with them of course," he said in a tone as if everyone should know this. Sheppard recalled the covered cages that he had seen the people carrying on the other side of the lake as the boy continued his explanation. "Each family will have a dove that they will release into the air once their loved ones are in the ground. It is our people's belief that these birds will carry the spirits of our loved ones to the afterlife where all our ancestors await us in death. Do you not do the same thing in your world?"

"Nay," Carson replied, shaking his head.

"So what do your people believe then?" asked the boy curiously.

"Well... er, we kinda have many different types of beliefs," Carson replied, "Some cultures believe that when a person dies, they get reincarnated again into something that's appropriate to the life they've led. Others, that they go to heaven or hell, or perhaps some where in-between like purgatory."

The youngster frowned at the use of such strange words, "Reincarnation? Heaven? Hell? Purgatory? I'm sorry, I do not understand these words. What do they mean?"

"Well reincarnation means that you are reborn again, though into what really depends on the life you've lead. For example, I've been told that if you're a man and you ..."

The Scottish doctor would have continued on with his explanation, except Sheppard cut him off when he saw the really confused look on the kid's face. Now was not the time to have theological discussions. "What Carson's trying to say Adric, is it's our belief that if you lived a good life, you'll end up in the good place and if you've lived a bad life, then you'll end up in a bad place. That's about it."

"Of course, there are others who believe that after death, there's nothing, you just cease to exist," McKay injected.

Sheppard shot the scientist an annoyed look and said, "Yeah, well personally, Rodney, I would like to think that there's _some _justice in the universe. You know, if you do the crime, you pay the fine?"

Adric nodded his head. "Yes, our people too believe that our deeds in this world will reflect where our souls would end up next in the afterlife. It is the reason why we buried Toga in an unmarked grave, for we do not believe that his soul would rejoin his ancestors in the afterlife. We believe that his spirit would wander in the shadowlands for all eternity."

At hearing this news, Teyla lowered her head and closed her eyes in sadness. In spite of all what he had done, Teyla felt sorry for the man who used to be her childhood friend. In her heart, she prayed to the spirits of the Ancestors that Toga would eventually find peace in the afterlife and be led back to the light.

"How about a change in topic?" This suggestion came from Ronon Dex. At the Satedan's voice, Adric suddenly looked up a little nervously at the Satedan.

"Er... Ronon? I'm really sorry about that spit that I gave you... It was meant to be a distraction, you know that, don't you?"

The tall Satedan turned back to look at the blond haired boy. "Yeah sure," he said, and before Adric knew what was happening, he found himself being pushed into the creek. With a startled cry of surprise, he tumbled into the creek with a big resounding splash.

"Now I forgive you," Ronon Dex replied giving him a smirk.

The rest of the team looked at a very wet Adric sitting in the middle of the creek then back at the Satedan in horror.

"Ronon!" Teyla chided him crossly, "That was _not _a nice thing to do! After all, Adric _had_ apologised!"

"Yeah and I've accepted it," he added with a wolfish grin, before taking a careful step into the creek to pull the boy back out from the water.

Standing up from the creek, dripping wet, Adric began laughing. "That's all right Teyla," he said, his eyes twinkling with good humour. "I believe I deserved it! After all, I _did _give Ronon a very _large _spit!"

o-O-o

When Sheppard and the others arrived at the village, led by a soaking wet Adric, they were surprised to find the village mainly deserted. On one side of the street, they saw a line of poles with red flags hanging above them, gently flapping in the breeze. They seemed to lead off somewhere in one direction.

"Where is everybody?" Rodney asked, looking around curiously.

Adric turned towards them and smiled. "Most of the people took their celebration clothes with them to the gathering; they will be changing there in preparation for the welcoming ceremony that's about to begin."

"Welcoming ceremony?" Carson asked, "For whom?"

Adric broke into a grin. "Why for our newly elected ruler of course!" he said enthusiastically.

"And who might that be?" asked Sheppard, wondering whether it would be Adric's dad.

Blue-green eyes flicked towards John. "Come to the ceremony and you'll find out soon enough," Adric replied. "But first, please come in."

The boy opened the door to a building and invited them in. Laid out on the table, Sheppard and his team saw light refreshments. "Please, help yourself with the fruits and drinks. The bathroom, if you wish to use it, is towards your left over that door there," Adric indicated. "Please excuse me now, I must change into some dry clothes. When you're ready, just follow the flags on the left, they will show you the way to the welcoming ceremony."

"Will you not be following us, Adric?" Teyla asked as the boy turned to leave.

The youngster shook his head. "No, Teyla. But do not worry, I will see you at the welcoming ceremony. Now, I really must go." With a wave, he was gone, shutting the door behind him.

o-O-o

They had been following the red flags for some time now. So far the flags appeared to be leading them away from the village and out into the country side. It appeared to be directing them towards a large hill.

"How long have we walking?" Rodney complained as he hobbled along with his cane. The long walk was tiring his wounded leg. The only good thing about it was the fact that the track that they appeared to be following was wide and flat.

"Are you in much pain, Rodney?" Carson asked, looking at the scientist in concern and wondering whether he should give the man anything for it.

"Huh? No, no, not.." his words were cut off as they abruptly turned a corner, where the view ahead was blocked by some thick scrub bushes, to step into the scene of loud clapping and thunderous cheering. Pretty flowers were thrown at them from all sides by the large crowd of Nonamers gathered there to greet them. Carson, Teyla and Ronon smiled, looking about in surprise at all the fanfare that was being held at the open clearing. Rodney, who was lagging behind due to his wounded leg, looked around amused but did not seem totally surprised. He darted a look at Sheppard, then whispered smugly to himself, "Huh, what do you know? We get a king's welcome..."

John felt more than a little stunned by all the ceremony and reception that they were receiving. It looked like the entire village had come out to greet them. Everyone also appeared to be dressed in their best their celebration outfits. Puzzled by all the fanfare and extravagant greeting, he tried to paste a smile on his face as he continued walking. Right and left, the Nonamers were giving him and his team deep respectful bows and curtsies as they walked past them. A small frown creased his brows and he whispered softly to his team, "Er... guys... Why are they bowing at us?... I specifically recalled _no _bowing when we first met these people last week..."

"They're bowing at _you_, Sheppard, not us," Ronon commented as he tried to brush off all the flowers petals that were falling on his hair and sticking to the sides of his dreadlocks. It was a futile effort as his hair quickly became sprinkled with more pink petals thrown by the adulating crowd. Teyla and Carson however didn't hear John's query, therefore they didn't answer his question. Both were currently wearing wide smiles on their faces at the attention they were receiving from the crowd; they appeared to be enjoying themselves.

McKay however heard Sheppard and Ronon's conversation. "Hmm, I believe Ronon's right. This little welcoming fanfare appears to be for your benefit, Sheppard, not ours."

Rodney glanced around, his blue eyes darting about and a grin formed as he spied a pair of hot Nonamer women standing in the crowd throwing flower petals at them. He gave them a wave. They giggled and waved back at him. "_Although..._, I wouldn't mind if all this _were _for me. I think I would make a good king for a day!"

"King?" John repeated the word, furrowing his brows as he shot an uncomfortable look at Rodney. Alarm bells were now going off inside him. "Okay guys, fess up. What do you know that you're _not _telling me?" He turned towards his team and aimed a dark scowl at them. He stopped walking and waited for an answer. He saw Carson give him a surprised shrug, so he figured that the good doc was in the dark about all of this just as he was.

"Ronon? Teyla?... _Roooodney?_" He decided to target his glare at McKay, emphasising the scientist's name; he knew that the astrophysicist would be the first crack.

"Hey, what are you looking at me for? I don't know anything!" Rodney squeaked. When the glare continued, McKay finally confessed, "Okay, okay! Before we left, the Nonamers kept referring to you as '_Lord Sheppard' _or '_my lord'_. Even that kid, Adric, called you that earlier when he first greeted you, remember? I think these people want to make you their king... but that's only my guess. That's all I know, really, Scout's honour! Not that I was ever a Boy Scout, mind you..."

"Somehow I can't ever imagined you _ever _being in the Boy Scouts, Rodney," Carson muttered under his breath.

Despite his soft tone, the astrophysicist's sharp ears heard the comment. "Huh? What do you mean by that, Carson? Was that meant to be an insult?" Rodney glared at the Scottish doctor, sounding a little indignant. "I think that _was _meant to be an _insult!_" the pitch of his voice got higher.

Aldwen, Adric's father approached Sheppard and his team with a group of several official looking and well-dressed Nonamer delegates. John thought that it was good timing, as their presence stopped an argument from forming between Rodney and Carson.

"My lord Sheppard," Aldwen addressed John, giving the pilot a deep, respectful bow. Rodney began nudging John as he gleefully whispered, "See? _See? _I told you so!"

John scowled at Rodney then turned back towards the Nonamer, forcing a friendly smile on his face.

"Just call me Sheppard, or _Colonel _Sheppard, if you prefer to use a title," he said to the Nonamers.

However, to his horror and annoyance, he discovered that his wishes were brazenly ignored as the group of delegates standing beside Adric's father came up to him and one by one, began echoing Aldwen's action and greeting. Uncomfortable with the reception he was receiving and unsure what to do about it, he gave the delegates an answering nod and returned a slight bow of his own. His action resulted in soft giggles from one part of the crowd.

He swiveled his head to look in that direction and saw Adric standing a little distant away with a group of Nonamer youngsters who were obviously his friends. Like the rest of his people, the youngster was dressed in colourful, bright celebration attire. At the sight of the familiar face, John flashed the young man a grin and a mock salute. While another delegate was bowing at him, he silently mouthed the words _'What the heck is going on here?' _The kid grinned back at him and mouthed _'You'll see', _giving him a cheerful wave. Seeing the silent communication going on between Adric and Sheppard, Adric's friends started to nudge him, giving the youngster playful shoves and pats on the back. A few teenage girls standing nearby giggled and squealed with delight when John happened to look in their direction.

Standing in front of John, Adric's father turned his head to see who Sheppard was silently communicating with. When he saw his son waving back at the colonel, he frowned in disapproval at his son's lack of decorum. Aldwen cleared his throat and shot all the young Nonamers a warning glare. The youngsters immediately recognised the look and stopped pushing and shoving each other as they tried to wipe the silly grins from their faces.

Aldwen sighed and turned back towards John. "My lord Sheppard," he greeted the pilot again, his blue-grey eyes were warm and welcoming. "Welcome back to our land. We are pleased indeed to see you looking well again." However, at his words, the Nonamer's gaze lingered on the bandages and sling around John's left arm and at his wounded shoulder.

At the repeat of the honourific title, John's frown deepened, he heard sniggers behind him again. He swung around and darted McKay a death glare. The scientist shut up immediately, but there was still a twinkle of amusement in those intelligent blue eyes that he could not wipe off. From the corner of his eye, John also saw Ronon, Teyla and even Carson trying to suppress the amused grins from forming at the corner of their lips.

Sheppard sighed, rolled his eyes and was just about to speak again when strange noises suddenly came out from Rodney. He turned to look at Rodney, who blushed and mumbled apologetically, "Er... something stuck in my throat."

The pilot turned back towards the Nonamers only to hear a second later more throat clearing sounds. It took a moment for John to realise that the scientist was actually trying to repress his laughter. However to Sheppard's ears, it sounded more like a cat trying to hack out a fur ball.

John shot his friend another glaring look before turning back towards Aldwen and the other official looking delegates. He forced another smile on his face and tried to put on the Sheppard charm. "Thank you, Aldwen. Please, call me Sheppard, or Colonel, or Colonel Sheppard, or even John. I don't mind any of those, but please, no more of this 'my lord' business... Save that for your own Nonamer folk."

At his words, he saw the Nonamers give each other pointed looks. Some subtle non-verbal communication passed between the delegates. John felt that they knew something that he didn't and it seemed as if they were wondering how to tell him about it. Finally, Aldwen cleared his throat and spoke. "There have been many changes since you and your team last visited us, my lor... er... Colonel Sheppard. First and foremost, we are called Nonamers no longer."

John and the rest of his team looked up surprised at this news. "Oh?" said Rodney.

"You see, our people were named after the Nonamer line, which was of Lord Toga Nonamer's ancestry," Aldwen continued. "His family ruled us for many generations. However, Toga's recent actions have put all Nonamers to shame, and our people do not wish to be known by this name any longer. On the pretense of friendship and a trade alliance, Lord Toga had led you and your team to our world, where he betrayed you to the Genii, who in turn shot you and Dr McKay. If it were not for your words and actions, Colonel Sheppard, we would have never found the strength and the courage to do what was in our hearts. You gave our people back our sense of pride and independence, Colonel Sheppard. I had asked Lord Toga to save my son, practically pleaded with him, but he had not been willing to risk his life for Adric's. You on the other hand, had risked your life, and spilled your blood, to save my son Adric from the Genii. And the greatest wonder of all, when the Genii shot you, our ancestors were watching over you, protecting you from Koden's bullet. They have favoured you, Colonel Sheppard. And by your actions, you have shown us that you are truly a better man than Lord Toga. Our people owe you a debt of gratitude that we cannot repay."

As Aldwen paused to take a breath from the long speech that he had just given, McKay stuck his nose into the conversation and asked curiously, "So what do you call yourselves now?"

Aldwen and the rest of his delegates smiled. "We are now called Shepparders, and we have nominated you, Colonel Sheppard, to be our leader, our ruler, our king. We want you to guide us and show us the way."

John stared at the men speechless, not knowing what to say. Rodney barked out a loud laugh, and whispered softly into the shocked pilot's ear. "Shepparder, huh? Hehe! Looks like now you really do have your own flock of sheep to guide and lead the way! Oh, this has got to go in the record books! King Sheppard, leading his sheep of Shepparders! I would love to read your mission report on this one, Sheppard!"

John shot Rodney an annoyed sideways glance. "Actually, Rodney, I think it would be quite _cool _to be made King Sheppard. Does have a nice ring to it, don't you think?"

"Really?" Rodney's jaw dropped open as shocked blue eyes turned back to stare at the pilot.

"Noooo... Geez, do you really think I want that?" Sheppard replied sarcastically. "Just shut it, Rodney and not another word out from you!"

John was unimpressed by his friend's amusement, but at least he managed to get one over the scientist as he tried to think a way out of this dilemma. Fortunately, it didn't take him long to come up with a solution. He turned back towards Aldwen and gave the man an easy smile. "I'm honoured, Aldwen, but I'm a soldier; I have responsibilities to my own people. You don't need me here."

He saw Aldwen and the other delegates open their mouths to object, however, he didn't give them a chance as he continued. "What you need is one of your own people to lead you. In fact...," he now drawled, a twinkle in his eye formed as the idea caught on, "you already have one amongst you. He may be young, and he may need some guidance in dealing with matters of the State, but he'll be most suited for the task."

Aldwen and the rest of the newly named Shepparders frowned and looked at each other. "Who?" they asked.

John's hazel eyes turned towards the blond haired boy standing next to his friends in the crowd. "Adric," he replied. "He has already proven himself capable of leadership by leading the fight against the Genii."

Young Adric who was standing with his friends and eavesdropping on the conversation looked stunned at Sheppard's words. The proud look and grin that the youngster had a moment ago when he heard his father ask Sheppard to be their leader now faded to an embarrassed, shocked look. John's smile now widened into a grin, a smug look appeared on his face. Yep, there was nothing better than a modest leader - one who didn't strive for popularity, one who was willing to make difficult and unpopular decisions when required because it was the right thing to do. One who could make personal sacrifices at the cost of their own life if it were for the good of others. Adric had already proven that he was capable of doing all that. He might be a little green still in the art of leadership, but John knew that Adric would make a great leader.

At John's suggestion, the Shepparders murmured among themselves regarding this new development. They glanced at Adric's stunned young features, then gathered together to confer softly amongst themselves. John smiled, his right hand going towards his wounded limb to slightly rub at it. His shoulder and arm were beginning to throb slightly. The pain meds must be wearing off, but it wasn't so bad yet. He still had a smug smile pasted on his lips when he felt Rodney whisper softly in his ear, "I can't believe that you just handed over your kingship to a seventeen year old kid!"

"In case you've forgotten, Rodney, that seventeen year old kid saved our butts from a burning," Sheppard drawled back a reply. Besides, he had no intentions for any kind of 'kingship' as Rodney phrased it.

After a while, the Shepparders separated, looked at John and nodded their heads. Then Aldwen stood and addressed John again. "You speak wise words, Colonel Sheppard. We will take this as your first and last official act as our ruler. Adric shall now be our newly elected leader."

"And there goes the shortest reignship in history," McKay muttered under this breath.

Sheppard pretended not to hear him but spoke to Aldwen instead. "And the name? You might one to change your people's name to one of your own."

At this Aldwen and the others shook their heads. "No, Colonel Sheppard, we are the Shepparders now. We will always be the known as Shepparders in honour and remembrance of what you did for our people. It takes a great man indeed to be willing to exchange his life for another. Our former ruler, Lord Toga was not willing to do that, while you, practically a stranger in our world, you put your life on the line for one ours. And the words that you spoke to us while you were tied to the burning stake, those words were the words of a true leader. You, who barely knew us, managed to read into our hearts. That night, all our people heard the voice of wisdom and truth: We did _not_ want the Genii in our village; _we had _a _right_ to decide who lives and who dies; _we _are _better _than the Genii. You saw beyond us, John Sheppard, you recognised our spirit. That was something that Lord Toga could never do; something that we lost along the way until you pointed us back to the true path that we were meant to walk. For this, we are a proud people again. Besides, Colonel Sheppard, without you willing to trade your life for Adric, we would not have Adric with us now. Which means that we won't have a leader to elect. For all these reasons, we are now called Shepparders."

Ronon and Teyla both beamed with pride and delight at hearing these words spoken about Colonel Sheppard while Rodney simply snickered. Carson looked at a loss for words. John felt embarrassed and did not know what to say. Fortunately Teyla sensed this and she saved the day by stepping up, looking at Aldwen and giving him a little head bow. "Thank you Aldwen, Colonel Sheppard is very much honoured by your people's gesture and he will always remember your people fondly."

John cleared his throat, "Yes, that is true. I am honoured, Aldwen."

The Shepparders returned a beam of delight at hearing his words. "Come now," Aldwen said, "We have a feast waiting for you and your team in celebration of our new name and our new ruler, Adric!"

At the mention of food, Rodney and Ronon eyes lighted up in anticipation of the feast.

"Er... in this wonderful feast that you mentioned, you didn't happen to put any lemons in it, did you? Cos you know, I'm allergic to citrus," Rodney said, looking around. "And where are we having this feast again? I don't see any food set up here."

Aldwen smiled and pointed up towards the hill. "Up there."

McKay looked at where Aldwen pointed. "Are we going to have to _walk _up there?" he asked, looking a little worried. He didn't think that he would be able to handle the journey with his wounded leg. Squinting up at the hill, he thought he saw a shadow of something towering on top of it. He wondered what it was but couldn't really make it out from where they were.

Dr Carson Beckett also took a glance at the hill and then shot John a look of concern. He doubted that the Colonel would be able to handle the trip. He might be all right now, but he knew that Sheppard's strength was limited. Already he noted that the Colonel had been rubbing his wounded arm slightly and he also looked a little paler than usual.

Aldwen also looked at the Atlantians, at Rodney's wounded foot and John's pale and tired features. "No, we have horses for you to ride and a path that will take you comfortably there. Do you ride, Colonel?"

Sheppard nodded and smiled. "It's been a while, but yes."

It turned out that everyone else knew how to ride except for Rodney. John looked at Rodney and a gave him a grin.

"Well, perhaps we can get you to ride a donkey."

If looks were dangerous, John would have found himself back in the infirmary again.

o-O-o

In the end, Rodney didn't need to ride a donkey as the Shepparders got him a gentle spotted mare, that was led up the hill track by one of the natives. True to his word, the path that led up to the hill top was wide enough for the horses to walk comfortably.

They soon arrived at the top and as they turned around the last hill bend, John got another shock of his life. His eyes widened and his jaw dropped at the sight that greeted them. It looked like the newly named Shepparders were not finished with their surprises. Behind him, he heard the sounds of gasping before they quickly turned to snickering.

"Oh my, I'll say it's a very heroic pose," Carson said, cocking his head to one side.

"What's with the kid?" Ronon asked folding his arms and looking at it.

"Playing with the hair! That's a nice touch," Rodney giggled.

"Well, the Colonel is _good _with kids," Teyla replied.

_"_Aldwen, _what is that?_" John finally managed to squeak out although he already knew the answer to it.

"Why, it's a statue of _you_, Colonel Sheppard. It took twenty of our best sculptures, carvers and artists to construct it. They completed it within four days, working both day and night at it. We are most pleased with the outcome; we feel that it captures a true representation of you, and the heart of the Shepparder spirit," Aldwen replied proudly. The sniggers next to John Sheppard increased in volume.

"Yeah, spiked hair and all, very Shepparder!" This outburst came from Rodney.

What made it worse was the fact that John also even heard giggling sounds coming from Teyla, Ronon and Carson. He swung around and gave them all his best death glare, which he seemed to be doing a lot of lately. It silenced them all temporarily.

He looked at the marble statue again, scrutinising it closer. Somehow, the natives managed to recreate a striking resemblance of him and what Carson said was true, the statue of him was set in a heroic action pose. It held a handgun in one hand, pointing it at some unknown enemy with a determined look on its features. However, in the other arm, the statue of the man carried the statue of a young child protectively. The little girl lay curled up happily on the soldier's shoulder, playing with the strands of familiar spiked hair.

"It is not grand? Our artists, stone makers and sculptures have done themselves proud to get it ready in time for your arrival," Aldwen beamed with pride.

"What's with the kid?" Ronon asked again as the Satedan admired the handywork of the statue. John wondered whether it was the artist in him.

Aldwen turned back towards the rest of Sheppard's team. "Oh, didn't Colonel Sheppard tell you about it?" Seeing the shake of heads, the older man nodded in understanding. "Of course not, not only is he a great warrior, but he is a modest one at that. Although Colonel Sheppard was injured, he still managed to save the life of one of our village girls, a young girl called Tellina."

_Tellina, so that's her name_, John thought silently to himself, recalling the blond headed little girl with large brown eyes and tiny fingers who could certainly pull painfully at the strands of his hair. He never did find out the child's name that night.

"The woman whom you handed the child to, Colonel Sheppard," Aldwen continued, "informed us how the child had been playing with your hair when you handed the girl to her. She also told us how she had kicked your leg, when you grabbed her hand, to which she is now most sorry for. See, not only did you give our people back their spirit and sense of pride, but you also saved two young lives that night. The statue here represents the spirit of the warrior and protector, the heart and the soul of what it is to be a Shepparder. It reminds us that sometimes we must have courage to fight for what is right, that we must only do so to save the lives of innocents, not for greed or for power."

Feeling embarrassed and flattered at the same time by Aldwen's speech, John heard Rodney softly say, "_They made a statue of us. And put it on a mountain top._"

"You mean a statue of Sheppard, don't you?" Teyla corrected.

"Isn't that the lyrics of a song, Rodney? I think I've heard of it before," Carson observed.

"Huh? Oh yes, it just sort of popped into my head," Rodney replied. "Which brings me to the question, why didn't they make a statue of us, huh?"

o-O-o

The crowning ceremony of young Adric turned out to be a simple and brief affair. It was held on the hill top beside the statue of John Sheppard. Aldwen had asked John whether he would do the honours of placing the plain silver coronet, a symbol of rulership on Adric's head, to which he had gladly agreed.

The little girl whose life John had saved, came up to him carrying the plain silver coronet on a small red cushion. She had a string of flowers on her hair and was wearing a pretty pink dress. She curtsied shyly at him and lifted up the small cushion with the silver coronet towards him. Obviously, she had been given instructions from her elders on what to do and she had been practicing. As John bend down to take the coronet from the child he felt Tellina suddenly reach out a hand to pull at his hair once again. Sheppard winced when he felt a few hair strands being pulled from its roots. Tellina may be little but she had strong tiny fingers that obviously loved pulling his hair. The small girl giggled softly while laughter erupted from crowd. Little Tellina's horrified mother quickly came up towards her daughter, apologised to Sheppard profusely, and led the child swiftly away back to her place in the crowd. John heard the young mother chiding the child softly while Tellina clutched a strand or two of his plucked hair.

John turned back to face Adric to see a wide grin on the boy's face at what had happened. He sighed, ran a hand across his head and rubbed at the abused spot. Then holding up the coronet, he looked at Adric and grinned back at the young man who was about to be made ruler of his people. As he placed the coronet on Adric's head, he gave the kid a wink, wished him good luck and told him not to get into too much trouble.

Adric smiled and nodded nervously back at John. The kid didn't really want the role, but as he was given no choice in the matter, he decided to lead his people to the best of his abilities and use what he had learnt from Sheppard to guide him. He also intended to listen to the council of his father and the older delegates especially in matters that he wasn't familiar with. But at the end of the day, he would try to use his own good judgment to make up his mind on what would best serve his people. This was what he promised to all the villagers gathered there. The Shepparders seemed pleased with his short speech and everyone clapped resoundingly and cheered for their new ruler. The kid looked a little embarrassed by all the attention, but he graciously smiled back at his people nonetheless. From where Sheppard stood, he saw Adric's father beaming proudly at the boy, and John smiled, feeling proud of the kid himself.

After the ceremony, it was feasting time, to which Rodney and Ronon were very much looking forward to. The Shepparders assured Rodney that there were no citrus in all the food that they had prepared, for they already knew all about the scientist's food allergies. Several large tents and dozens of long tables and chairs had been set up to accommodate the entire village on the large hill top. Cooking utensils, food, wine, drinks and gear had also been carried to the hill top. Clearly, a lot of effort and energy had gone into the preparation of the feast. Fortunately, a fine day marked the occasion.

Sheppard and his team were directed to take their seats at a long table situated next to the newly erected statue of John Sheppard. The only good thing that John saw about his assigned seat was that his back would be facing the statue, which meant that he wouldn't have the embarrassment of having to look at it everytime he looked up. Yet, he also knew that he had been strategically placed there so that the villagers could compare the living flesh of the man himself to that the statue that was behind him. He knew that it couldn't be helped; he just had to bear-up and grin with the hero-worshipping looks directed at him from almost all the Shepparders whom he met. Inwardly, he was rather uncomfortable with all the attention showered upon him, but outwardly he didn't show it. He wasn't about to give Rodney the satisfaction of knowing how uncomfortable he felt about the entire thing. Already he knew that he would be receiving a lot of teasing from his team when they got back to Atlantis. Nevertheless, despite his best efforts, the scientist kept sniggering everytime one of the villagers shot Sheppard an awed look.

Currently, John sat beside Rodney and Ronon, while Teyla sat next to Ronon and Carson. Young Adric sat directly opposite Sheppard, facing the team on the other side of the long table with his father and other Shepparders. Before the feast began, Aldwen, who was sitting next to his son Adric, stood up and waved to one of the serving girls to approach them. She arrived bearing a single plate of delicious looking dessert. She placed it before John, bowed and left.

"This, Colonel Sheppard, is a rare delicacy, a dessert reserved only for the most honoured among us. While this would have normally gone to the ruler of our people, Lord Adric wanted you to have it on this occasion," Aldwen explained. It sounded strange to the Atlantians' ears to hear young Adric being referred to as 'Lord' this time.

"What's it made of?" John asked, looking down curiously at the dessert before him. He thought it an odd custom to be offered a sweet dessert before the meal but did not say anything about it. After all he was on an alien world with an alien race, who was he to argue that dessert was only meant to be eaten after the main meal?

Aldwen smiled and informed him that it was made from the rarest of fruits that was very difficult to get on the planet. The preparation of the dessert itself also took several days to complete. The taste was meant to be exquisite and delightful. John thanked the man and had to admit that it was one of the most delicious looking piece of dessert that he had seen in his entire life. His mouth watered just looking at it. "What's it called?" he asked.

"It's called _'Scrumptiously Delicious YumYum Delight'_," Aldwen mouthed out the extremely long name. "As our honour guest, you should take the first bite out of it before we can begin the feast. It's meant to bring good fortune to all who eat it."

"Well, I could do with some good fortune," John quipped, smiling at the superstitious beliefs of these people. Then again, he would have never believed there were such things as life-sucking wraiths until he came to the Pegasus galaxy.

"Well, bon appetit!" John said as he dipped his spoon into the dessert and scoped up a generous portion of it, before giving his onlookers a small salute with his dessert spoon. From the corner of his eye, he saw both Ronon and Rodney eying his dessert with saliva dropping from the corner of their mouths. Smiling, he took the first bite of the dessert. The taste did not disappoint and _Scrumptiously Delicious YumYum Delight _lived up to its reputation. Even though it was only a spoonful that he had, he savoured every single delicious moment of it by closing his eyes and letting his taste buds enjoy the moment. He now looked forward to eating up the rest of it in no time. When he opened his eyes, he saw that everyone was staring at him in eager anticipation on what he thought of it. He nodded at them and said, "It's the most delicious thing I've tasted in my life."

Cheering and clapping erupted with smiles all round. People now began talking to one another and getting ready for the feast. John grinned. He turned back to his dessert again and was just about to take another scoop out of it when a hand suddenly reached across from his side and took his entire dessert plate away.

"Hey!" he protested as a bit of drool dropped from his mouth to land on the spot where his plate had been a moment ago. He saw Ronon dig his spoon into the dessert, raise it up and gave him an inquiring look. "I am claiming what you owe me, Sheppard, that is, one _Scrumptiously Delicious YumYum Delight_," he smirked.

There was an uncomfortable silence at the table now as all the Shepparders wondered what John would do. A few villagers even looked angry at the Satedan for doing what he did; they looked ready to get up from their seats and do battle with Ronon when John saw Adric lift his hand and shake his head 'No'. _Good_, he thought to himself. The kid showed wisdom in knowing when it was time to fight and when it wasn't. He would make a good leader as he knew when to stand down.

But damn! He so wanted to have that desert now that he had tasted it. It was so much better than turkey sandwiches. "Aaw Ronon, do you really have to claim it now?" John whined, knowing that he sounded like a kid but he didn't care, he _really _wanted to eat that delicious dessert all for himself.

"Yep," the Satedan replied curtly.

John sighed, his mouth still watering over the taste of it. "Okay then, you can have it," he finally conceded, feeling utterly disappointed as he watched the Satedan grin and started to dig in. However, after taking a bite, and savouring over the taste of it, he saw Ronon dart another look at him before giving out a big sigh. The Satedan then sliced the dessert into half, placed the half portion on a clean plate and shoved it back at Sheppard.

John looked up surprised at the Satedan. Ronon rolled his eyes at him and noted, "The pathetic look does not suit you, Sheppard."

Sheppard grinned back at the Satedan, not caring how pathetic he looked as long as he got his half share of dessert back. He took his spoon and was just about to dig in when he caught Rodney looking at the dessert on his plate with longing in his eyes. If he had looked like how Rodney looked now, drooling pathetically where he sat, he knew how the Satedan felt. Sighing, he cut his share into another half, turning it into a quarter and tumbled that piece into McKay's empty plate. Ronon in the meantime had done the same to his dessert to give a small piece to Teyla, who for once, was also looking quite pathetic as she eyed the Satedan's plate. It was quite frightening actually, after all, none of the team had seen Teyla drool before, but for some reason she was doing just that as she eyed the scrumptious dessert. Both Teyla and Rodney now grinned in delight at their share of the desert. All the Shepparders sitting there looked at the team's antics with amusement in their faces.

Suddenly a voice spoke up with a Scottish brogue, "Hey, what about me? Don't I get a piece?" Carson asked in a hurt tone. John looked at his teammates and all of them sighed as each one of them cut out a small piece of their dessert and placed it on the good doctor's plate. After all, that was what families do, they took care of one another and shared things, even if was only a piece of _Scrumptiously Delicious YumYum Delight_; an alien dessert that was usually given to the ruler of a people called the Shepparders.

It wasn't long before everyone was enjoying themselves and the celebratory feast was soon into full swing. Although the ache in John's shoulder and arm was now throbbing painfully, and he knew that he was due for another shot of Carson's pain meds, John was too happy to let the pain of his injuries concern him. Later perhaps, he would regret his decision, but for now John sat back, smiled and relaxed as he looked at his team and the Shepparders laughing and enjoying themselves. He had to admit, when he first got his blackmark and sent to Antarctica to serve his tour of duty, he thought that his career was over; that he would spend the rest of his days being a military transport pilot with no friends or family who cared about him. Never in his wildest dreams would he have imagined that he would activate an Ancient chair, come to the Pegasus galaxy, be part of a new family and meet an alien people who would name themselves after him. Sometimes the universe was full of ironies.

THE END

o-O-o

**Author's note:**

Sorry, no sequel planned for this. I just left the door open in case something popped into my head in the future. If it does, I may write a sequel, if it doesn't just think of this story as an in-between episode before Common Ground. (After all, Koyla did capture John in a most unusual way and did make him suffer.) Alternatively, I may write something about the Shepparders needing Sheppard's help again, who knows. I had originally called the Shepparders coincidently as the 'Sheppardsters' as I thought it sounded almost like a super-hero kind of name, until I realised that there is a reviewer/writer here with this really cool name already, so I had to change it (and I didn't want to 'steal' her name! LOL!). Also, the verse of "_They made a statue of us. And put it on a mountain top._" is taken from the song "Us", used without permission. I kept hearing this song on the radio, which was what inspired the scene in this last chap.

Oh, and special thanks and acknowledgment goes to TangledPencils for allowing me to borrow her idea of Ronon pushing Adric into the creek!

Hope that all of you enjoyed this story as I worked hard at it, especially this last chapter trying to fill in all the gaps and suddenly realising that it turned out extremely long! (I can't believe that it ended up more than 9000 words, so more like a chapter rather than an epilogue which is meant to be short... yikes!) Anyway, I do hope everyone enjoyed it. It has been a blast to write. Funny thing was, I didn't know how it would end until I wrote it! LOL. Thank you everybody who reviewed (and who are going to review)! This tale has an ending because of you. :D

For those who haven't reviewed, but have been reading this, now that it has ended, do you think you could spare a moment to tell me what you thought of it? If you enjoyed it, one little review is not asking too much, is it? As a writer, it would be nice to hear from all the readers reading this. Even if everyone in the alert story list wrote one comment - that would certainly make my day! One can only hope, right? And also all you other silent readers out there, what did you think about it?

If you have been following this story to the end, I hope you will take the time to leave feedback. After all, it's the reason why I wrote it in the first place, without feedback, there's really no purpose in writing it. (Yeah, I'm funny that way, LOL!)

Once again thank you everyone who has left feedback so far (especially my regular reviewers). It is very encouraging and appreciated. You guys are the best, big HUGS to all of you!

Also, thank you all who are going to review this final chapter. (After all, I can't leave you with anymore cliff-hangers which I learnt get more reviews when you leave a chapter hanging! LOL!) All I can say is may you all receive lots of Christmas blessings from Santa this year:D.

Have a wonderful and safe Christmas everyone!

Autumn leaves  
xoxoxo


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